Taking Chances
by satin-skies
Summary: When Ginny divorces Harry, he becomes a teacher at Hogwarts in order to keep custody of his kids. As Harry tries to put his life back together, his son picks a fight with the one student that could turn it all upside down again.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Taking Chances**  
><strong>Author: satin-skies<strong>  
><strong>Rating: M for language, adult situations and strong sexual contant (later to come)<strong>  
><strong>Pairing: DracoHarry**  
><strong>Summary: When Ginny leaves Harry, he is forced to leave his job as an Auror and become a teacher at Hogwarts in order to keep custody of his kids. As Harry struggles to put his life back together, his son picks a fight with the one student that could end up turning his life upside. *I'm terrible at summaries*<strong>  
><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used in this story. They are all the property of the great J.K. Rowling.<strong>

**Author note: This is the first Harry Potter fic I've written in over five years. I wrote three others when I was in my early teens but never finished them, then got sidetracked with writing McFly fics. Anywho, I'm back now and am very excited for this story. I hope you guys like it.**

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><p>To the average wizard, Harry Potter led the perfect life. He was handsome, rich and famous. He was the man that brought peace to the wizarding world. He did not have any parents but he did have a rather large and loving extended family with the sort of friends one would find only once in a lifetime.<p>

He had it all.

After the war, Harry had chosen to live as normal a life as possible. At twenty-three years old, he married his long time girlfriend, Ginny Weasley and, by the age of twenty-seven, had celebrated the births of his two sons, James and Albus, and daughter, Lily. As many speculated, Harry joined the Ministry as an Auror shortly after his marriage and ushered in a new era where witches and wizards did not need to live in fear, for their savior was watching over them.

But, like many things in Harry Potter's life, the happiness did not last long. Only eight years into their marriage, Ginny filed for divorce, citing that Harry's absence from the home put too much strain on the relationship with her being left to raise three kids practically on her own.

Though Harry tried to reconcile, they realized that they were only doing it for their children and not themselves. The love was gone and Harry had to wonder if it was ever there to begin with. He did love Ginny, that he was sure of. She was by his side through the aftermath of the final battle, all the trials, his Auror training and all the good and bad press. She was the mother of his children and though he loved her deeply, he could not say that he was _in_ love with her.

The divorce shook the wizarding world to it's core as word broke that Ginny was leaving the Potter home and had every intention on taking the kids with her.

Harry struggled to keep the details of their divorce out of the press as much as possible for the sake of his kids. Even with society returning to a semblance of normalcy after those dark times, the _Prophet_ still seemed Hell bent on finding anything to slander Harry's good name.

In the weeks following the announcement, Harry saw a side of Ginny he had never known existed and he did not like it. She was spotted out and about with a different man nearly every night and was rarely photographed sober, proclaiming to the paparazzi that she was finally free to live her life.

She was becoming more and more short tempered the more hung over she woke up, occasionally snapping at the children when they got too loud before the hang over potion could take effect.

Ron and Hermione were there to make sure the kids were being well cared for while Harry was away working on his various cases but it became increasingly apparent that he needed to sort his priorities out.

Regardless of Ginny's activities at night, she was still likely to gain custody of the kids in the divorce. His name would not be able to hide the fact that he worked fifteen hour days, disappeared for weeks at a time on assignments and ran the constant risk of retaliation from his enemies. No court in their right mind would let him raise three kids with those job risks but he could not subject them to the downward spiral Ginny was heading down so he promptly resigned from his Auror post and opted for a more stable-and safer-job as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts.

The class had not been taught since the fall of Voldemort as many believed it was no longer warranted. Harry argued, however, that in his years as an Auror, Death Eaters and supporters a like, though few, still remained at large and children needed to be able to defend themselves. He also believed that they needed to know the dangers of Dark magic. Children were curious-they were raised on stories of the War-and if they wanted to learn about the Dark Arts, they were going to. It would be safer for them to learn it in the safe environment of a classroom than risk someone getting injured or worst because they were practicing in secret.

The Ministry agreed that with Harry's change in career and his high standing in society that he would be awarded primary custody of his three children, with Ginny having custody over Lily while Harry and the boys were in school.

As much as Harry tried to keep things amicable with his ex-wife, Ginny refused any help from him or her family.

Harry spent many sleepless nights worrying about his little girl. He would write to her often with rarely a response and would always get a house elf making some excuse as to why Lily was unavailable when he fire called. It angered him that Ginny would cut him off from his own daughter because of her own personal issue with him. He never saw her as the type.

Thoughts plagued Harry at night, causing him to wake in the middle of the night, sweating and short of breath and this night was no different. Except it wasn't a nightmare that pulled Harry from his slumber. It was the sound of hurried, frantic hammering on his chamber door.

He shot up, groggily searching his bedside table for his glasses with one hand while wiping the moisture from his forehead with the other.

"Dad!" A muffled voice called from the other side of the thick wood door that Harry instantly recognized as his youngest son, Albus.

He shoved his glasses on his face and gabbed his wand and robe as he dashed to the door, pulling his robe on in his haste. He opened the door quickly and winced as Albus' fist collided with his stomach as the young boy continued knocking. "Albus, what are you doing out of bed?" He asked, crouching down so he was eye level with the eleven year old clone of himself.

Albus struggled to form words as he gasped for air and tugged at his father's sleeves. "James. Hallway. Fighting." He panted out, trying to pull his father with him down the hallways.

Harry's eyebrows creased. "Take me there." He said, his voice low and tense. He stood up straight again and let his son pull him along the various maze of hallways at a brisk jog.

As a parent, Harry's mind raced with horrible thoughts of what he was going to stumble upon. James had been the only one who was really affected by the divorce. As the oldest, he was the man of the house when Harry was away and he went through a lot when he was left with Ginny. He made sure that his brother and sister did not see the random men that snuck out of their flat in the mornings, he was there to make sure they were all up on time and fed while their mother slept in.

When he turned eleven and came to Hogwarts, Harry hoped that his son would be able to be a child finally but only found James using his freedom from his siblings to rebel. Harry spent a large portion of James' first year at school in the Headmistress' office, listening to one teacher complaint after another about his behavior in the classroom, or the hospital wing due to his countless fights with the older students.

His attitude towards Harry was hostile during school and in the summer months. He was turning into a hormonal teenage and Harry found himself wishing he had been around more, his heart aching every time James disappeared into his bedroom, missing the days when his little boy would look at him like his hero instead of his warden.

But Harry could not think as a parent at that moment - he needed to be a teacher.

As they approached the end of the hallway leading to the main entrance hall, Harry could hear the sounds of a struggle. He quickened his pace, moving passed Albus and turned the corner, freezing on the spot. James was standing there, smirking triumphantly, wand held out in front of him as a smaller student dangled in the air, held upside down as if by an invisible rope wrapped around their ankle. "James!" Harry called out, marching closer. "Put him down this instant!"

James' smirk did not falter as he made eye contact with his father and lowered his wand, thus dropping his opponent onto the stone floor, unceremoniously.

Harry's eyes flared up in rage as he bent down beside the young boy, helping him up.

"What?" James questioned, chuckling as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You told me to put him down."

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "You are not in the position right now to get smart with me." He said through clenched teeth. "I want the both of you in my office and Albus-" He said, turning to his youngest son, who stood there in his red and gold plaid pajamas looking nervously between his big brother and his dad. "I want you to go back to the dorms and go to sleep."

"But, I saw what happened!" He said, his eyes secretly pleading with his dad not to be left alone in the castle. "Please, let me come with you."

Harry's eyes softened and his crouched down. Albus was always a shy child; quite clever for his age but shy compared the confidence of his older brother. Albus wanted to be brave like his dad and popular like his big brother. It was only the second week of school and Albus had attached himself to James' side from the moment they boarded the Hogwarts Express not wanting to get lost and devoured by the mysterious monsters that hid in the shadows of the school-or so he was told by James.

Harry laid his hand on his son's shoulder, squeezing it gently and giving him a soft smile. "Albus, I want you to go back to your dorm and get some rest unless you want the same punishment your brother is going to get."

Hunter green eyes widened in fear. "But-but I didn't do anything!" He cried, looking to James for help that would not come.

Harry shushed the young boy. "Do as I say, Albus."

Albus frowned at the finality in his dad's voice and nodded solemnly, his lips pouting. "Yes, sir." he mumbled then turned on the spot and made his way back toward Gryffindor Tower.

Harry watched him go for a moment before turning his attention back to the two boys in front of him. "You two. My office. Now." He ordered, pointing in the direction he wanted them to walk.

The smaller boy kept his head down and started walking while James rolled his eyes and followed, nudging the boy with his shoulder roughly as he stormed passed causing the other boy to aim a kick at his shin in retaliation.

"Lay a finger on each other one more time and I'm doubling whatever punishment you are about to receive." Harry said, walking behind them so that he could keep a close eye on them.

He shook his head as James strode down the hallway with his head held high and turned the corner, knowing his way to Harry's office like the back of his hand.

As he watched his son disappear from his sight, he sighed knowing that this was going to be the start of a very long school year.

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><p><strong>So, there is chapter one!<strong>  
><strong>Not the most interesting thing in the world but it's only the beginning. Give it time and trust me. :)<br>I'd love to hear what you guys thought of it.**

**Next chapter should be up in the next few days or so.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I have to say, I was so thrilled to see so many of you adding this to your story alerts. Such a good feeling. Thank you!**

**Thank you to Tiliapetiolaris for the lovely review, as well. I really appreciate it!**

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><p>"You two. Sit." Harry ordered, pointing to the two chairs that sat in front of his desk and shutting his office door behind him.<p>

James threw himself down on the chair nearest to the door, slouching down and sighing exasperatedly, letting his head flop back and began clicking his tongue to show his boredom in having to sit through yet another one of his father's lectures.

The other boy remained silent, his shoulders rigid and tense as he sat timidly in the second chair and folded his hands on his lap.

As Harry rounded his desk, he took proper notice of his son's sparing partner and froze momentarily as he saw the platinum blonde hair and Slytherin robes. He had to use his Auror skills to keep himself as calm as possible as he stared at the young boy, memories of his own school days flashing through his mind. "You're a first year, I take it." He said, keeping his voice calm and soft as to help relax the younger boy's nerves.

The Slytherin nodded, eyes glued to his lap. "Yes, sir."

Harry nodded, glancing at his son, who continued to show no sign that he was in any trouble. "What is your name?" He asked, looking back at the other boy.

"Scorpius Malfoy, sir." He replied.

Harry smirked. "I had a feeling." He said as he sat down in his chair. "You look just like your father."

Scorpius looked up and smiled broadly, the tension in his shoulders vanishing as his whole body seemed to straighten in pride. "Thank you, sir." He said, his eyes sparkling merrily.

Harry could not help but notice that his eyes were the only thing about Scorpius that differed from his father. While Draco's eyes were always a stormy grey, Scorpius had more blue in his eyes; they reminded Harry of the sky at sunrise-just the faintest hint of grey amongst a pale blue.

Harry shook his head and cleared his throat, letting his smirk drop. He sat up straight in his chair and smoothed out his robe, trying to gain as much sense of authority as he could while dressed in his pajamas. "I have to say, I am greatly disappointed." He began staring at Scorpius and then at James in turn. "We're only two weeks into the term and I have to deal out punishments for fighting."

"He started it." James said, pointing an accusing finger at Scorpius. "I was just defending myself."

"You were dangling him upside down by his ankle when I arrived." Harry said, ignoring Scorpius' indignant gasp. "You seemed to be more enjoying yourself than defending."

James rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him. "Here is what I want: I'm going to ask you a question and I want it answered truthfully-and trust me, I'll know when you're lying. You will each have a chance to answer so you will not interrupt. Am I understood?"

Both boys choired as 'yes'.

"Scorpius, why were you out of bed after hours?"

Scorpius bit his lip, nervously. "I was going to the kitchen to get something to eat." He said, his pale cheeks turning a faint pink. "I fell asleep in the library, trying to finish my Charms essay and I missed dinner."

Harry's forehead creased. "How do you know where the kitchens are?" He questioned, having not discovered the location of the kitchens until his fourth year.

"My father told me stories about it."

Harry nodded. "Then what happened?"

"I was just coming up from the dungeons when I saw James and his brother in the entrance hall." He said, glancing quickly at James then back at his hands. "They were yelling at each other about something."

"James," Harry said, turning his chair slightly so that he was angling directly at his son. "What were you and Albus doing out of bed?"

James sighed and sat up properly in his seat though his face still showed his indifference to the whole situation. "I was in the common room, hanging out with my mates, and Albus kept bugging me so I yelled at him to leave me alone, he kicked me so I pushed him. He started crying and stormed out of the room." He shrugged. "I figured he was going to go running to you to tattle on me so I went after him."

Harry scowled at his son, silently reprimanding him for fighting with his brother. "What happened next?" He asked, directing his question back to Scorpius.

"I was just going to walk by but James stopped me, saying that I had no business being out of the dungeons." Scorpius explained, briefly glancing in James' direction. "He said that was where snakes belonged."

Harry nodded, encouraging the boy to continue, clenching his jaw in order to stop himself from going off on his son.

Scorpius frowned, wringing his hands together, looking suddenly very guilty. "He just kept saying really mean things so I pushed him to make him stop but he pushed me back and then he said something about my father so I hit him and that's when he pulled his wand out." Scorpius took a breath having said his involvement in the fight all in one breath. He had tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke and Harry was unsure if it was because he was afraid of being punished or because he was genuinely hurt by the things said to him.

Harry leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk and looking Scorpius in the eyes, smiling softly. The kind of smile he gave his own children when they were on the verge of crying to help reassure them that it was alright. "What did James say to you that got you so upset?"

"I'm not quite sure what he meant but from the way he said it, it didn't sound nice." He said, looking back at Harry warily. "He called me a Death Eater. Said I was 'a no good Death Eater' just like my father."

Harry's face hardened at the mention of the word and his eyes fixed on to James, who was finally showing signs of unease under his father's furious gaze. "Tell me you didn't say that, James." He said, trying his best to keep his voice steady.

James remained silent, only confirming his guilt as he looked down at his lap.

"I told you those stories as a way to teach you; Not to used them as a means to hurt someone." He chastised the boy. "I taught you better than to use that term."

"But he is!" James exclaimed, looking up once more. "He's got the Dark Mark on his arm! I show it when I pushed him. I show it when he was fixing his robes!" He said, pointing to Scorpius now. "Look at his arm!"

Harry turned to the Slytherin and stared at the boy's arms. "Scorpius, please lift your sleeves for me."

The blonde haired boy looked between Harry and James as he did as he was told, looking extremely uncomfortable with all eyes baring down on him. Harry watched as his right arm appeared clear of any blemishes but felt his stomach churn violently as he rolled up his left sleeve to reveal a crudely drawn rendition of the Dark Mark.

Harry sank back in his chair, staring in horror at the innocent looking eleven year old boy and the drawing that tarnish his skin. "Why would you draw that on your arm?"

Scorpius shrugged, looking at his hand drawn tattoo with indifference. "I saw it on my father's arm once. I just thought it would make me more like him."

"And he never told you what it meant?"

"He never shows it to anyone, I saw it by accident once." He explained. "When I asked, he just told me not to worry about it."

Harry blinked. "You said before that you didn't know what a Death Eater was. Is that true?"

Scorpius shrugged, yet again. "I heard it mentioned once. Mother and father were arguing one day and I overheard her use that word."

Harry had his head in his hands, not able to believe what he was hearing. "Did your parents tell you anything about the War? Anything at all?" He asked, frowning as Scorpius shook his head slowly.

"They never liked to talk about it." He said. "And I never really asked."

Harry sighed. How was it possible that Scorpius knew nothing about the war or about the Death Eaters? It was legend. It was something all kids grew up on. Harry observed Scorpius with curiosity as the boy watched him back, still uneasy as to whether he had done something wrong with his explanations.

Harry thought that he should tell him about the Mark. The boy should be aware of the danger he was putting himself in by proudly parading the tattoo around the school, like it was a badge of honor. He should be aware of what happened during the War and why 'Death Eater' was a word rarely used in the Wizarding world anymore but then he realized that it was his parent's responsibility to tell him the stories and he was bound to hear about it in one of his classes, as every teacher now seemed to relate a lesson or two back to those dark times.

"Scorpius, hold out your arm for me." He said finally, picking his wand up from the desk as Scorpius extended his slightly shaking arm. With a flick of his wand, the Mark disappeared. "I don't want to see that drawing ever again." He said in almost a whisper, setting his wand back down. "Some people may be upset by it so I don't want you to draw it on yourself, your paperwork or any of your books from now on, do you understand me?"

Scorpius nodded, pulling his sleeve back down. He looked disappointed and rubbed his arm absentmindedly. "Yes, sir."

"As for you," Harry said, looking to James, who was fidgeting in his seat. His calm, cool demeanor vanished in an instant and Harry was left with looking at his little boy, afraid of being in trouble with his father. "If I ever find out that you or any of your friends use that word again-against Scorpius or any other student in this school-I will see to it that you don't see anything outside of the classroom and your dorm room until you graduate. Am I making myself clear?" He said firmly, more firmly than he had sounded with Scorpius. His parental side was overcoming his role as an educator and he was clouded with frustration at the young boy.

James pouted and nodded his head. "Yes."

"Good. Now," He sat back in his chair and watched the two boys for a moment, his fingertips pressed together in front of him as he thought of a proper punishment for them. "I will be taking a hundred points from each house for being out of bed after hours and you will each service detention for one month every Saturday, starting this weekend, for fighting. Scorpius, you will serve detention with me and James, you will serve with Professor Longbottom."

James' head shot up and he looked at his father incredulously. "Not Professor Longbottom!" He cried. "He always makes me feed those stupid mimbus plants. They always squirt that gross slim on me!"

Harry chuckled to himself. He was referring to the small stock of Mimbulus Mimbletonia that Neville kept in the greenhouse just for students serving detentions with him. "Well, it's either that or you serve with Hagrid and he's been away for the week. I'm sure the animal pens will need a good cleaning come Saturday."

James paled at the thought of having spend his Saturday shoveling Hippogriff manure and quickly opted for the greenhouses instead.

Harry dismissed the two back to their dorms so they could get some sleep. Harry sat in his chair for some time after that, leaning his head against his palm so he could massage his temples. He could not shake the thoughts of the young Slytherin boy from his head.

How did he make it eleven years without knowing anything that happened during the War? Even if his parents refused to talk about it, it was in the papers, there were hundreds of books. You could not walk down Diagon Alley without someone telling their tale on a street corner.

He worried that Scorpius' ill knowledge of events could lead him into more trouble than necessary. There were many families that could not forgive as easily as others and Harry was certain that they reflected those views onto their children.

Harry needed to get to bottom of things and that meant that he would have to go straight to the source:

He would have to talk to Malfoy.

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><p><strong>So, there you have chapter 2!<strong>

**I should warn you all now, this is not going to be one of those stories where they're in love with the snap of a finger. I like the slow, building storylines. It would be unrealistic for two people, like Harry and Draco, to fall in love so easily with the kind of history between them. If you don't like that type of story then bail out now! If you like it, then buckle your seatbelts and prepare for a fun little ride!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello all!**

**First off, I just want to say that I was extremely overwhelmed by the amount of story alerts I gained off the first two chapters. 36! You have no idea how good that made me feel. You are all amazing.**

**And, also, a very special thank you to: Merlins-Wolf, Sarahamanda, , MDarKspIrIt, Tiliapetiolaris, LIGHTNSHADOWS and beauty0102 for your lovely reviews. I love logging into my email and seeing reviews. They put such a smile on my face and encourage me to write more so thank you so much!**

**Finally, if you want to stay up to date with the progress of future chapters or have a question/comment/idea/just want to chat, feel free to add me on Tumblr or Twitter. The adresses are in my profile. :)**

**Okay, enough chatting. I know why you're all here.**  
><strong>Here is chapter 3! Hope you guys like it.<strong>

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><p>As hard as he tried, sleep would not come easily for Harry that evening. He tossed and turned relentlessly as images of the small Slytherin boy doodling the Dark Mark flooded his mind. He felt an unusual desire to protect the boy. He could not trust James to keep silent about what had happened that evening and he expected his friends to make a comment or two to Scorpius when Harry was not around.<p>

A low growl rumbled in the back of his throat as Harry rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, any drowsiness he felt earlier vanishing with every passing second. With a defeated sigh, he pulled the sheets away, climbed out of bed and walked to his wardrobe, pulling out his robes for the day.

He did not bother to check the time as he left his chambers and headed down the empty hallway. The sun had not even shown signs of rising yet as he passed through the Entrance Hall and climbed the stairs. He felt uneasy as he walked towards the gargoyle the guarded the entrance to the Headmistress' office.

That room held some of Harry's fondest and darkest memories and he had never fully adjusted to walking in there and not seeing the wise old man, with the half moon spectacles, sitting behind his desk with the kind of ever present smile that told you he had something up his sleeves.

Even after all those years, since his death, the passwords remained candied themed; The Headmistress not having the heart to change such a fond tradition. The gargoyle stepped aside as he spoke the password and walked up the spiral staircase.

He paused, only momentarily, before knocking lightly on the polished oak door. He wondered if Headmistress McGonagall was asleep. He had not even thought of the possibility that he would be disturbing her. He got his answer a moment later when the door clicked open and a soft voice called from further inside. "Come in."

The Headmistress sat behind her desk, wand still in her hand from opening the door. "Harry, do come in." She smiled and set her wand down while holding her other hand out, offering him a chair. "Have a seat."

She was dressed for the day and looked as if she had been awake for some time. Harry could not help but think that none of the Heads of the school ever slept. He used to have the same theory about Dumbledore when he was younger. He smiled to himself and cast a glance over at Dumbledore's portrait, where the man sat in his chair, sleeping soundly with his hands folded across his chest. "I'm sorry for bothering you so late at night." He said, sitting down.

McGonagall smiled. "On the contrary, Harry, given the time, I'd say you were early." Harry glanced at one of the seven different styled Muggle clocks that hung on the far wall and saw that that it was nearly five o'clock. "Care for some tea?" She asked, rising from her chair and making her way over to a small tea set that sat on an end table just behind her desk.

Harry shook his head. "No, thank you."

"Coffee then?" She offered, watching him closely. "You do look awfully tired."

"I-I didn't get much sleep." He confessed, shifting uncomfortably under her piercing gaze.

She nodded silently, pouring herself a cup of tea. They did not speak as she added two cubes of sugar and a splash of milk to her steaming cup then walked back over to her desk and sat down once more. "Something you'd wish to discuss?" She asked finally, taking a small sip of her drink.

Harry sighed, looking down at his hands. "James got into a fight tonight."

McGonagall watched him with the same knowing smile he had seen her give him for nearly twenty seven years. She sat back in her chair and brought the cup to her lips once again. "Being your son, I knew he would be a handful but a fight in the first two weeks?" She shook her head and set the cup down on the desk. "That must be a school record." She said more as a joke but Harry could not help but cringe at his son's less than stellar achievement. "Even you and Draco managed to go at least a month before having to be pulled apart in the halls."

Harry cleared his throat, chewing on his bottom lip. He chose not to tell her that he and Draco, in fact, held that record following the incident in his fifth year when Draco broke his nose on the Hogwarts Express.

He ran a hand through his already unruly hair, clearing his throat once more. "Speaking of Malfoy, what do you know about Scorpius Malfoy?"

"Not much, I must confess." She said, her smile melting into a slight frown. "I read of his birth in the papers but he was rarely seen out in public and I, myself, am surprised to even find him at Hogwarts." She sighed and looked up at Dumbledore's portrait, her eyes becoming distant but alive with memories. "Most pureblood families, who were associated with the wrong side, have preferred to send their children elsewhere." She spoke softly, as if talking more to Dumbledore than Harry. She blinked and looked back at him, her smile returning instantly as she reached for her tea. "From what I have seen of him so far, he is a very well mannered boy. What's sparked this curiosity, Harry?"

"Scorpius was the boy that James got in his fight with. Though, it's not the fight itself that concerns me." He confessed. "It's the things said that brought it about that do. I'm not even sure if it's really my place to be talking about it with anyone else except Malfoy."

"The argument was about Draco?" She asked, her thin eyebrows raising in surprise.

Harry nodded solemnly. "James said some things about him that upset Scorpius, yes. I plan to send an owl to Malfoy about it. I'd like to discuss it more with him."

She nodded, swallowing the sip she had just taken before setting the cup back down. "Then you'll be needing his contact information then?"

"I'm aware where Malfoy Manor is."

McGonagall looked at him incredulously, her mouth falling open slightly. "You don't read the papers anymore, I take it."

Harry frowned and shook his head. The only newspaper he ever read now a days was _The Quibbler_ and even that was a rarity. After being the front page story for more than half of his life, Harry had grown tired of looking at himself day in and day out with nothing but stories that contained countless rumors and speculations that never had a shred of truth to them.

"Draco moved out of Malfoy Manor shortly after the announcement of Astoria's pregnancy." She said, opening a drawer beside her, flipping through a stack of papers. "They moved into quite a modest home…well, modest for a Malfoy." She laughed lightly to herself, amused with her little joke.

Harry pursed his lips. "Oh. Well, in that case, yeah, I'll need that."

"Will you be sending an owl to his mother as well?" She asked, pulling a sheet from the middle of the pile out and handing it over to him.

"I'm sure she'll read it once he's done with it." He shrugged, taking the sheet and glancing over it.

"You really don't read any thing anymore." She said, deadpan. "Harry, Draco and Astoria divorced nearly four years ago." She chuckled when Harry's head snapped up, eye wide in surprise, his eyebrows disappearing behind the fringe of his hair. "It was quite the scandal, though, no one is really sure of the cause. Everyone had a different story but the two refused to discuss it." She said in a hushed voice, as if it was a secret she did not want the other Headmasters and Headmistresses to hear. "I'm surprised you didn't hear anything about it. It made the front page."

"When did you become such a lover of gossip, Professor?" He asked, folding Malfoy's contact information in half and tucking it into his robes.

"Well, ever since I gave up teaching, there hasn't been much for me to do but read all those papers and talk to the portraits."

"And run a school."

McGonagall rolled her eye. "Well, there is that, of course."

Harry laughed lightly and stood up. "Thanks for this, Professor."

She inclined her head to him. "It is my pleasure and if you do need to talk about anything, Harry, I'm always available." She said, looking at him poignantly.

Harry grinned and nodded. "I know but I think I can handle it."

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><p>Two days had passed since Harry sent an owl to Malfoy without any response. The letter did not hold any sense of urgency, merely stating that he wanted to discuss an issue with Scorpius, but he expected something back. He considered sending another letter explaining his reason for contact more clearly, worrying that his first was simply dismissed.<p>

Did Malfoy even care? He did not care enough to tell his son anything about his past so maybe he did not want to hear about what he did at school. It infuriated him to think that, after everything Draco had gone through, he would turn into an exact copy of his father.

To make matters worse, Albus had told him that morning that James had been telling his friends about Scorpius being a Death Eater in the common room and that they were planning something before Albus was forced, physically, by James to leave him alone.

"I just don't get it, Mione." Harry sighed. He sat, cross legged, on the floor in front of his fireplace, elbow resting his knee and chin perched on his palm. After all the stress of his week, he needed someone to talk to so he could get everything off his chest and, luck for him, Hermione was always willing to accept his fire calls and offer any advice that she could.

Hermione gave him a sympathetic smile. "He's twelve years old, Harry. In a year, he'll be a teenager and things will only get worst with him." She said, softly as to calm him down. "Right now, he's testing you. You weren't around a lot and he went through a great deal with the divorce-more than his siblings-so he is seeing how far he can push you and what he can and can't get away with. Just give him time."

"I wish there was a book on parenting." He groaned, tilting his head down and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"There are many of them, Harry. You just never bother going to the library." Hermione said, matter-of-factly. He blinked then broke out in laughter, the tension in his body melting away as he and Hermione laughed together. "How's my Rosie doing?" Hermione asked with a bright smile, once she got her composure back, knowingly changing the subject to something more lighter.

Harry nodded, taking a moment to catch his breath. "She's doing really well. She's making plenty of friends and according to what her teachers are saying, she should be at the top of her class by the Holidays."

"Oh!" She squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. "That's my girl. Don't tell Ron this but I was thrilled when she wrote and said she got into Ravenclaw."

"How's he coping with it?" He asked, remembering how Ron was close to tears when he told him that Rose was not in Gryffindor, like he had hoped and prayed.

"He's getting better." She said, with a roll of her eyes. "He's still holding out hope that Hugo makes Gryffindor but I think I see a bit of Hufflepuff in him." She paused for a moment, looking away from him at something out of his view before glancing back, her expression now somber. "I saw Lily the other day. Ginny had to run some errands so I looked after her for a few hours."

Harry's heart leapt into his throat and he instinctively leaned forward, hoping against hope to catch a glimpse of his daughter through the fireplace. "How is she?"

"She's alright." She reassured him with a small, tense smile. "She was a little quiet at first but once she went outside and played with Hugo for a while she brightened up again. I think she just misses you and her brothers terribly."

"I haven't spoken to her since I left." Harry said, looking up at the mantle place, his eyes prickling with tears. He sniffed and swallowed back the lump in his throat. "Ginny won't answer my fire calls, my letters go unanswered." He said, shaking his head and covering his face with his hands as tears began clouding his vision.

"Ginny is being rather unruly lately."

"I just worry about Lily so much, now a days." He sighed, dropping his hands to his lap. He felt so lost when it came to Ginny lately.

A sudden crack made both Harry jump and Hermione to look around in alarm as a small house elf appeared beside Harry. "Professor Potter, sir?" The elf squeaked, bowing low. "You has a visitor."

"Send them in." He said with a smile, wincing as the elf disappeared with another resounding crack. "I've got to go but thanks for talking with me." He said, smiling once again as he pushed himself up off the floor.

Hermione shrugged. "I have nothing better to do when Ron's at work and don't worry about Lily."

"I'll try not to." He promised, straightening his robes the best he could, trying to smooth out the wrinkles around his legs from sitting on the floor for so long.

"I'll tell you what." Hermione said with an excited grin. "Next time she's here, I'll have her write you a nice big letter."

Harry smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Hermione. I'd like that."

"And go easy on James."

"Alright, alright." He laughed, waving to her as he reached over to end the connection. "Talk to you soon."

Hermione waved and then the green flames vanished and he was left alone with his thoughts. He took a deep breath and released it slowly, staring into his empty fireplace for a moment longer.

He could not think about Lily at that moment. She was safe, he was sure of that, and he had a rebellious son-not to mention a detention-to deal with that evening. He needed to remain focused.

He straightened up and turned to head back to his desk when he froze, his eyes widening in surprise as he became aware that was not, in fact, alone in his office anymore.

Draco Malfoy leaned against the door frame, smirking at the dumbfounded teacher. "Still friends with Granger, I see." He said, nonchalantly, stepping into the room and looking around with a critical eye. "Some things never change, eh?"

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><p><strong>So, there you have it! Let me know what you thought and I may be able to get the next chapter up faster. ;)<strong>  
><strong>Until next time, my dears!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**I keep getting so excited when I see all these emails about being added to people's story alerts! Makes my day!**

**And a big thank you to: Sarahamanda, 2910leiv, randy13, BloodRavenMaiden, xCassandrax, love, , slytheringrl17, MyriadProBold, bo7162, Tiliapetiolaris, shamen610, MrsSnape2u, xxxxParvati-Patilxxxx, MDarKspIrIt, Ralaj, FrenchRoseLake, GingerCatsRule and beauty0102 for the lovely reviews!**

**Sorry for the delay in adding, by the way. I broke my wrist so it's hard to type and keep focused when you only have one hand to work with.**

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><p><span>Chapter 4<span>

Harry could not bring himself to move while he watched the tall blonde walk around his office, examining his book shelves and photos with a critiquing eye.

"I thought you were-um…" Harry cleared his throat, trying to draw the Slytherin's attention to him. "Mr. Malfoy, won't you please-"

"Come now, Potter." Draco interrupted, his eyes still glued to a photo of Harry and the kids that was taken just the previous Christmas. "Given our history, I think we are far passed proper formalities." He stood up to his full height and turned to face Harry finally, the smirk still plastered on his lips.

Harry could not help but roll his eyes and gesture with his hand to the chairs in front of his desk while walking around to his. "Alright. Just take a seat then."

The, now, head of the Malfoy family sat down, resting his elbow on his the arm of the chair, balancing his chin on his thumb, his stormy grey eyes watching his former school mate with mild interest. "Forgive me for not getting back to you sooner." He began, lower his hand and leaning back in the chair. "I was away on business and only just received your owl."

Harry folded his hands on top of the desk, having been nervously playing with his hem of his robes. "I wasn't expecting you come here, personally." He said. "I assumed we would handle this through letters."

Harry had been hoping he would not have to have this conversation with Malfoy in person. Not that he could not handle his school nemesis, he would just prefer to have time to properly think through what he wanted to say.

"When it comes to my son, I prefer to handle things personally." Malfoy said, his eyes still boring into Harry, a hint of curiosity shining through his emotionless mask. "Though, I'm curious as to why you contacted me. As far as I know, my son doesn't take your class this year."

"It's not his academics I want to talk to you about. Your son was in a fight earlier this week." He watched as Malfoy's eyes widened briefly, the cool grey in his iris' darkening.

"Is he alright?" Malfoy asked, a tremor of concern sneaking into his tight, conversationalist tone.

Harry held a hand up as to reassure the man. "Perfectly fine. No bumps or bruises." He said with a small smile. "I managed to break it up before it got past simple shoving. It's the reasoning behind the argument that I wish to talk to you about." He paused, chewing on his bottom lip. "The student he was fighting with-my son-called him a Death Eater." He glanced up briefly to see that muscles in Malfoy's jaw clench tightly while his hands gripped at the arms of the chair at the mention of the word 'Death Eater'. "The more surprising thing about it all was that Scorpius didn't understand what a Death Eater was."

Draco scoffed, looking over towards the door and Harry could not help but wonder if the Slytherin was anxious to make an early escape. "I see your son inherited your knack for assuming the worst of people." He muttered as he looked forward once more, a scowl planted firmly on his lips.

Harry sighed. "He had the Dark Mark drawn on his arm."

"You're lying." He whispered, the mask he wore crumbling more and more as worry and panic started to seep through the cracks.

"I erased it myself." Harry confirmed. "When I asked him about it, he said he saw it on you once and thought it would make him more like you. I just don't understand why he knows nothing about what happened."

Draco stiffened, his knuckles turning a ghostly white as he gripped the chair tighter. "It's my decision, as his parent, as to what he does and doesn't know."

"Not when it puts him in danger like that." Harry countered. "What if it wasn't my son but another student who saw that on his arm? What if I didn't get there when I did and he was seriously hurt? I mean, what did you expect would happen? Keep him in the dark for eleven years then send him off to school and assume he won't hear about it?"

"You're responsible for my son's education. I'll worry about his parenting." Draco's voice rose as he made to stand up, calling an end to the conversation.

Harry stood up, slamming his palms down on his desk. "While he is in this school, I am responsible for his mental and physical well being." He said, glaring at the seething Slytherin.

They stared at each other, the other unwilling to be the first to look away. It was clear to Harry that Malfoy cared more for Scorpius than he had anticipated and it made Harry sympathize with him, in a way.

Harry took a breath and released it slowly, straightening up and walking around the desk towards the wary man. "I'm not trying to bring your parenting into question." He said, his voice still tense through his clenched teeth. "I'm just trying to understand."

"What am I meant to tell him?" Draco exploded, his walls disintegrating around him to reveal the person Harry remembered from the days of old. The scared little boy who seemed lost and hopeless yet so full of silent rage. Rage that was now focused on Harry.

"It must be so easy for you." He sneered, looked Harry up and down as if he were a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe. "The famous Harry Potter gets to tell his children about how he and his band of friends rose up and defeated the Dark Lord. What do I tell my son, Potter?" He asked, pacing aimlessly, running a hand through his blonde locks, letting them fall in pieces around his face. "That the reason he has never met his grandfather is because he's rotting away in Azkaban? That the reason his grandmother doesn't visit is because she's under permanent house arrest? That the mansion he loves to spend Christmas in was once the home and headquarters to the most evil thing known to man? Or that his family was responsible for the torture and murder of hundreds of innocent people?"

Each question caused Harry to flinch as Draco spat the words like venom. He began to realize that the look on Malfoy's face was not one of disgust in Harry, but one in himself. "So, please tell me," Draco said. He had stopped his pacing and stood, looking at Harry with an expression that Harry could only classify as helplessness. "How do I tell him all of that and have him not hate me?"

Harry blinked. His heart seemed to ache for the blonde haired man in front of him, leaving Harry with the overwhelming need to want to lay a hand on his shoulder in comfort. Harry had never thought he would see that particular side of Draco Malfoy; the concerned father.

He took a tentative step forward, his hand twitching at his side but he stopped himself when Malfoy broke eye contact and turned away. It was not easy to break a Malfoy to the point where they loose control of their emotions but it astonished Harry how quickly Draco was able to reel them back in. With a rolling of the shoulders and a stiff straightening of his robes, Malfoy turned to face Harry once more, his face stone still, though his eyes betrayed him and continued to hold a glimmer of his agonizing conflict.

Harry breathed in, preparing his thought when a soft knock drew both men's attention to the door. "Come in." Harry called, shifting his eyes to the blonde but frowned when Malfoy refused to look his way and watched the door instead.

It creaked open and a head of bright blonde hair appeared. "Scorpius." Harry said, unable to stop his eyes to travel between the two Malfoys.

"Good evening, Professor." Scorpius said, shutting the door behind him and setting his bag down. "I was just-father?" The boy faltered when he saw his father standing in the room and immediately drew himself to full height, wiping the grin he entered with off his face.

Draco nodded to his son. "Scorpius."

Harry glanced between the two, rubbing his hands together anxiously. "I was just explaining the reasons for your detention to your father. I wasn't expecting you so early."

"If a Malfoy is on time then he is considered late." Scorpius recited his creed, looking every inch the proper pureblood wizard but still nervously sending a look towards his father, as if to ask if that was the right thing to say.

The corners of Malfoy's lips twitched upwards, ever so slightly, as he watched his little boy out of the corner of his eye.

"Right." Harry said, watching the older blonde curiously, having not missed the moment he shared with his son. "Well, I'm just going to go and set some things up for our time and give you a moment to say goodbye."

Harry walked out of his office and into the adjoining classroom, shutting the door behind him and letting out a sigh.

Harry's mind was running wild with thoughts about what had just occurred. It had been so many years since he had seen such a fire erupt in Malfoy. Not since that night on the Astronomy Tower, where Harry discovered the true lengths the man would go to protect his family.

After learning about Malfoy's divorce from Headmistress McGonagall, Harry had called in some favors with his friends at the Ministry and was able to obtain records from the Malfoy/Greengrass divorce hearings. He tried to convince himself that it was simply to check for a reason why he kept his son in the dark but that, ever present, annoying voice in the back of his mind told him it was more curiosity than anything.

In true pureblood fashion, the divorce was handled very amicably, with a generous amount of money and one of the Malfoy estates being awarded to Astoria, as well as some of his business ventures. The only disagreement made in the official records was custody over their son.

Astoria argued that her son did not deserve to have the tainted name of 'Malfoy' attached to him, nor did Draco deserve an heir; That 'the name 'Malfoy' should die with the new head of the house, as it should have in the final Battle.' Harry grimaced as he recalled reading Astoria's cold testimony.

It baffled Harry as to why Astoria would have agreed to marry and bare Malfoy a child if she was so opposed to his checkered past. Even if it was for the money, she remained with him until the boy was seven years old.

The records showed an overwhelming support for Astoria, despite Malfoy's vigorous pleas and arguments, but it was Scorpius, in the end, who chose his father and the Ministry had rule to let the child remain with Draco, though he was constantly visited by social workers and tracked by the Ministry.

He had so many questions he, so desperately, wanted answers to after reading the files and those urges were only reinforced by the outburst in his office. There was definitely more to the story than was being lead on.

Pulling his wand out of his back pocket, Harry flicked it once to his left and then again to his right. Dozen upon dozens of books flew off their shelves from the bookcases that lines the walls and landed with soft thumps on the empty desks.

He pocketed his wand and head back towards his office door, having given the pair ample time to speak. He slowly turned the knob and cracked the door open, listening briefly, hoping that Malfoy was going easy on the boy.

They were speaking in hushed tones so Harry opened the door a little wider and looked inside to see Malfoy crouched down in front of Scorpius, a warm smile on his lips as he wiped tears from his son's reddened face.

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><p>"Y-You're not mad at me?" Scorpius sniffed, bringing his arm up and wiping his runny nose on his sleeve.<p>

Draco's nose wrinkled as his quickly cast a cleaning spell on Scorpius' shirt, vanishing the wet stain. "Of course I'm not mad at you." He assured, his voice gentle and soothing. "I'm upset that you turned to violence to solve your problem. I taught you better than to let your anger get the best of you but I'm not mad."

Scorpius bowed his head, his lower lip pouting out and trembling once more. "I'm sorry." He whispered, quickly wiping newly form tears away from his eyes.

"It's alright. All I want you to do is focus on your education and not fighting my battles for me. Promise?"

"Promise." Scorpius nodded.

Draco lightly took his son's chin between his thumb and index finger, lifting it up so that they were face to face. "I love you," He said, sliding his hand through the boy's hair then bringing it down to cup his cheek, rubbing his thumb back and forth as to erase the tear tracks. "You know that right?"

Scorpius nodded once more and leaned in, wrapping arms around his father's neck. "I love you too, dad." He said, burying his head in his shoulder.

Draco let out a small chuckle and embraced his son, placing a kiss on top of his head.

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><p>Harry backed away from the door, mouth gaping and eyes wide.<p>

In all his years of knowing Malfoy, he had seen many sides of the Slytherin. Arrogance, disgust, anger, worry, fear but never thought he was capable of warmth and _compassion_. It made him appear almost normal. Human.

He blinked and approached the door once more, making sure to make enough noise so that his presence was known.

When he stepped in, the intimate father and son moment had ended and the two now stood an arms length apart, Scorpius watching his feet while Malfoy stood, expressionless, looking to Harry.

Harry shifted awkwardly under the blonde's gaze. "All set?"

"We're finished here." Malfoy confirmed.

Harry nodded, breaking eye contact finally and looking to the younger boy. "Scorpius, you can go into the classroom now. You'll find two stacks of books. The pile on the left I want filed away in order of publication date, earliest to most recent. The stack on the right, I want put away alphabetized by author."

Scorpius bowed his head and began to cross the room. "Yes, sir."

"And leave your wand on my desk." Harry added, noticing the little hop in the boy's step. "I'll return it to you once I'm finished talking to your father."

Scorpius' chest fell causing Harry to knowingly smile at the scowling boy, who begrudgingly laid his wand down on the desk. "Yes, sir." He muttered with a stubborn pout.

"Stay out of trouble, Scorpius." Malfoy said firmly. "I do not wish to hear that you've been in a fight ever again."

Scorpius wiped the pout off his face and turned to face his father once more. "I understand, father." He said, lifting up chin high, in pride. "It won't happen again."

"Good. I'll see you during the holidays."

Scorpius turned and left the room, Harry shutting the door behind him. "The truth." Harry said, after a brief moment of silence, still face the door as if he was still watching the boy on the other side.

"I beg your pardon?"

Harry turned around and pressed his back against the solid wood, crossing his arms over his chest. "You asked me what you should tell your son. I say, you tell him the truth before he hears it from someone else."

Malfoy scoffed and shook his head. "What difference would it make?"

"A world of difference." Harry said, taking a step closer to the Slytherin but keeping his arms crossed. "He deserves to hear it from you rather than some kid who's been raised by what the media tells them or the spiteful stories of their parents. Half of the stories about the War have been exaggerated to the point that they're practically fairytales but kids believe them because why would their parents lie to them?" He dropped his arms down to his side and paused a few feet away from Malfoy. "And whatever hate they have for you, they'd have passed it on to their kids, whether they meant to or not, through their stories."

The blonde's eyes pierced through Harry with such an intensity that Harry would have taken a step back, if his body hadn't locked up. "Every fairytale is born from some form of truth." He spoke in a low, harsh voice. "I did terrible things."

"You're right." Harry whispered hoarsely, finding it more and more difficult to look away from the molten silver eyes. "You are far from innocent but you are not a bad person."

Malfoy broke eye contact, looking up to the ceiling and shaking his head in exasperation. "I tortured people to the point where they are now permanently institutionalized." He turned away from Harry and ran a hand through his hair before turning back, his emotions leaking through his hardened mask. "Last time I checked, that falls under the category of a 'Bad Person'."

"Did you ever once look forward to it?" Harry asked, unsure if he should come closer or stay where he was. "Take pleasure in torturing those people?"

"No! Of course not." He spat, wrinkling his noise in disgust.

"It was self preservation, not being evil, that made you do those things. You were trying to save yourself and your family." Harry tentatively walked up to the other man, who had turned his back to him, and laid a hand on Malfoy's shoulder but it was quickly thrown off, as if the feel of it burned.

Harry frowned and placed his hands in his pockets. "We're pretty similar, when you think about it."

Malfoy spun around, eyebrows raised incredulously.

"Doing unimaginable things to protect the ones we love. Mine just ended up being more positive in the public eye, though I should have been thrown into Azkaban for half the things I've done." Harry chuckled humorlessly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'd even say that you were braver than me."

"Are you barking mad?"

Harry shook his head. "I've never been alone." He whispered, chewing on his bottom lip. "Not truly, since I started Hogwarts." He was unsure if he was doing the right thing in telling Malfoy any of this and yet, he felt he had to. He could see the internal conflict inside his former nemesis. He could see the haunting memories from the past that he had hidden so very well but there was no way to ever escape the horrors of what they went through. "From my first ride on the Hogwarts Express, Ron and Hermione have been by my side, helping me every step of the way. It seemed the greater the challenge, the more help and support I'd get." He took a step back and sat upon the corner of his desk and sighed. "People make me out to be this incredible, invincible person but I'm just an ordinary guy who got lucky. I would have died when I was eleven if it weren't got my friends.

"And then there is you, Malfoy." He said, leaning back, propping himself up on his arms. "You did unspeakable things but with, what I believe were, the best intentions. You managed to keep your cool-not to mention your sanity-in front of Voldemort and you did it all on your own." He watched the tension in Malfoy's shoulders increase the more he spoke. "You were just a kid and you kept all that uncertainty and worry and _fear_ to yourself and you did it all on your own. I would never have been able to do that."

"Even you can't believe all of that Gryffindor garbage you just spewed out at me." He whispered, looking over his shoulder at Harry.

"Alright, you want to know how I know that you're not an evil person?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes and his face morphed back into his usual air of arrogance. "You're just going to tell me anyways so have at it."

Harry stood up again and walked up to Malfoy, staring him in the eyes, trying to find that emotion that was there only seconds before. "If you are so evil, then how do you explain Scorpius?" He asked in a soft whisper. "You managed to raise an incredibly polite and well mannered boy, who clearly adores and worships you. No kid that good could have come from someone so bad."

Malfoy hesitated, opening his mouth but closed it firmly in the end. He cleared his throat and straighten out his already perfectly pressed robes, distracting himself from breaking in front of Harry once again. "Thank you for informing me about my son." He said, briefly meeting Harry's eyes before turning and walking to the door. "I have some business to attend to so I will leave you to your detention."

Harry watched him elegantly sweep from the room and shut the door, with a snap, behind him. He hoped what he said stayed with Malfoy and that he would do the right thing and tell him son the truth.

He glanced at the door once more before sighing and grabbing Scorpius' wand off his desk and heading for the classroom.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you guys thought and I will do my best to have a new add up much faster next time!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you all for being so lovely and patient with this long wait.**

**I went to the New York premiere of Harry Potter, camped out for 3 days and ended up getting to go onto the red carpet to see the cast up close! So amazing!  
>Then, of course, was the Harry Potter movie release. Mourning ensued.<br>Hosted a bridal shower for one of my best friends.  
>Finally, last night's Pottermore mania! I ended up staying up till 4 in the morning with some friends from the premiere and we figured out the clue, found our quill, did all that was needed to be done and just got confirmation that I'm one of the few who get early access!<strong>

**Needless to say, it's been a busy month!**

**As always, a very special thank you to all who have reviewed: ****MrsSnape2u, blacknightjoker, MyriadProBold, Sarahamanda, Allyieh, xxxxParvati-Patilxxxx, Tiliapetiolaris, Evening12, Nameless Little Girl, fan girl 666, 2910leiv, shamen610, beauty0102, chubit and theking666**

**You guys are amazing!**

**MAKE SURE YOU READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!**

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><p>After the elder Malfoy departed, Harry joined the younger Slytherin in his classroom. He was pleased to find that Scorpius had already made a decent dent on the piles he left out for the boy and chose to leave him to it and took a seat behind his desk to grade some papers.<p>

The classroom remained silent as the two worked, the only sounds were that of Harry's quill scratching across parchment and Scorpius' footsteps echoing as he walked from the desks to the bookshelves and back.

"Professor?" Scorpius asked suddenly.

Harry jumped as the boy's soft voice seemed much louder than normal in the empty classroom and frowned at the ink blot that now marred the test he was correcting. "Yes?" He asked, pulling out his wand and vanishing the smudge before continuing his corrections without looking at the boy.

Scorpius did not divert from his task either, blowing some dust off of the old text before placing it in it's appropriate slot on the bookshelf. "Did you know my father in school?"

"I did." He mumbled in response, trying to focus on reading one students essay on the practical use of shielding spells. "We were in the same year."

"Were you friends with him?"

Harry's eyes shot up, staring at Scorpius over the top of his glasses, the quill in his hand frozen in mid sentence. "Uh…no." He said, clearing his throat then returning to his work. "No, we weren't."

"How come?" Scorpius asked without missing a beat, still working without pause.

Harry sat up straighter in the chair and watched the boy curiously.

Scorpius glanced at Harry on his way back to the depleting pile of books and smiled innocently, making Harry smirk. He never had a student try and make conversation with him while in detention before, much less a Slytherin and _definitely_ not a Malfoy.

"Back when I was in school, Gryffindors and Slytherins very rarely associated with one another and your father and I _really_ didn't get along." Harry said, trying to sound as diplomatic as possible, unsure of how much Malfoy had told the young boy of his years at school.

Scorpius paused, lips pursed. "How come?"

Harry could not help but laugh, leaning back fully in his chair and dropping his quill on the forgotten papers in front of him. "Has anyone every told you that you ask a lot of questions?"

"My father tells me that all the time." He admitted, his pale cheeks donning a faint pink color as he crossed the room to begin on the second pile of books he was assigned to. "Says I'm too curious for my own good."

Harry watched the boy go about his task, without complaint and a faint smile on his face. It marveled Harry that that child was the spawn of his school rival.

Scorpius may have gotten the looks from Draco but Harry more interested in where he inherited the personality. Draco would have been moaning about the lowliness for such a task and refusing to even lay a well manicured finger on the tattered, dusty books.

Yet, Scorpius had a bright, innocence to him. A purity that he had not known possible from the illustrious family. If Malfoy had been like that when he was eleven, Harry could easily have seen himself accepting his offer of friendship.

"Your father and I weren't friends because he wasn't necessarily the nicest kid, to put it in the politest of terms." Harry explained. "He didn't like my friends and I didn't like his attitude. So, we fought quite a lot."

Scorpius rounded the desk and approached the professor with a frown on his face. "Were your friends mean to him?" He asked, coming to a stop and perching himself on the student desk in front of Harry. "Is that why he didn't like them?"

"Well, Ron was never level headed around him but that is a whole other rivalry." He chuckled to himself but quickly wiped the smile from his face as the young blonde stared at him in confusion, clearly not understanding the humor in the statement.

"No, it was all about blood status and family name. He was raised on some very old and bigoted beliefs." He watched the boy but when he continued to hold Harry's gaze, unfazed at the dig on his family name, Harry continued. "If you weren't a pureblood or a Slytherin, he wouldn't be caught dead around you."

"I have friends in different houses." Scorpius said, matter-of-factly, before glancing over his shoulder as if the confirm that they were really alone and then leaned closer. "I even have a half blood friend, who's in Hufflepuff." He whispered, a mischievous smile gracing his face.

Harry placed his elbow on the arm of the chair, resting his temple against his fingertips as he smiled at Scorpius. "Back in my day, school unity didn't exist. It was encouraged but never practiced." He sighed and glanced down, the smile softening on his lips, taking on a sad quality. "After the war, it seemed sort of silly to be so segregated."

Nodding solemnly, Scorpius whispered. "Some people in my house make fun of me for having friends outside of Slytherin."

Harry's eyes darted back up to the fair haired boy. He seemed to have walled himself off, legs and arms drawn close to his body, tense. It reminded Harry of how James used to sit on the couch when Harry and Ginny would explain to him the tales of the War. He tried to look brave in face of it all but, deep down, he was just a child-afraid and unsure.

"There are those who are still raised in the old ways, despite everything, I'm afraid." He leaned forward and angled his head so he could try and catch the boy's eye. "Nothing can really be done about it."

"That's why Father is no longer friends with any of his old classmates." In an instant, their eyes met in surprise. Harry could not stop the broad grin that spread across his face while Scorpius bit his lip. "…oops!" He mumbled, sheepishly.

"What?" Harry could not help but be humored by the boy's nervous attitude and chuckled as Scorpius squirmed uncomfortably.

"I think Father's head would explode if he knew I said that." He explained, expanding his fingers and arms out wide as if to mimic the massive explosion he referenced to. "No one is meant to know that. Not even me." He said, shaking his head furiously. "I over heard him arguing with-"

Harry held up his hand, outwardly laughing at that point and pausing the boy's story. "Do you eavesdrop on all of your father's conversations?" He asked, remembering Scorpius mention that he had overheard another one of his father's conversations earlier.

Scorpius looked down at his hands and pouted. "Not all of them. Some were by accident."

Harry laughed harder for a moment longer before he pulled himself together, wiping a tear from his eye and taking a deep breath before leaning back in his chair once more. "Well, your secret is safe with me and if kids are giving you a hard time, you can always go to your head of house."

"And then get beat up for telling on them." Scorpius replied, a trace of sarcasm in his voice. "It's not as bad as it sounds. Pretty harmless really."

Harry nodded. "Has my son been leaving you alone?"

"For the most part." He said, with a small shrug.

Harry stared at the boy, waiting patiently for him to continue on. It did not take an Auror to know that the boy was hiding something more from him. From the way the Slytherin's eyes darted around anxiously and the tension building in his shoulders, he could tell there was more to the story.

He just continued to watch the boy, catching his eye more and more as Scorpius' reserves began to break down. It was a tactic he used with his own children when they were hiding something from him. The more he stared, the faster they caved.

"He tripped me in the hallway the other day." Scorpius said finally, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "He said it was an accident but there was plenty of space in the hall." He paused briefly then looked up and met Harry's eye. "Your other son was there too. Told James to shove off then stayed behind to help me pick up my books. He's quite nice, despite who his brother is." He sneered at the end causing Harry to blink as he saw a flash of the boy's father.

The way his eyes darkened and nose wrinkled as if James was a lowly bug that crawled across his bedroom floor but, as quickly as the look came, it was gone and the soft spoken child was back, his cheek flushing as he flinched. "No offense."

Harry inclined his head. "None taken. Albus always had the more gentle nature of my children."

"Yeah, he's not bad." Scorpius agreed.

Harry glanced at his watch and saw that there was still a half an hour left before he was meant to call an end to the detention but he felt that the boy deserved a break for the enjoyable conversation he provided that evening. "Tell you what. Since you showed up early and have been very cooperative, I see no problem in letting you go a few minutes early."

"But I haven't finished, sir." Scorpius said, turning and pointing at the half finished pile of books left on the desk behind him.

Harry waved it off. "You're close enough, don't worry about it." He smiled once again at the boy's stunned and unsure expression. It was clearly a first for the young man. "I'm sure you have homework that need to get done."

A small grin appeared on his lips and he nodded. "I do have a potions essay to do."

"Well, there you go." Harry said, folding his hands over his chest. "I'd rather have you doing homework than cleaning desks."

"Thank you very much!" Scorpius exclaimed, hopping off the desk and racing over to grab his bag.

"You're very welcome." Harry smiled at the excited boy. "I'll see you next Saturday. Oh, and Scorpius," He said, holding out the boy's wand that he had kept with him on his desk. "If James does give you any more trouble, please come to me."

"It's nothing I can't handle." He assure the professor, taking his wand back and sliding it into his bag. "Have a good night, Professor." He called as he ran to the door, a youthful bounce in his step.

Harry could not fight back the smile as the blonde disappeared from the classroom. "Goodnight, Scorpius."

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><p><strong>Question for you all: Would you be interested in seeing chapters from the kids' (ScorpiusAlbus/James/etc.) perspectives?**

**I've grown rather fond of Scorpius and would like to explore his character more as well as have some ideas that can help extend and deepen the story more.**

**Let me know if you'd like that and what you thought of the chapter!  
>Until next time, my dears!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**My deepest apologizes for such a long wait. I've been so swamped with work, school, my best friend's wedding as well as my sister's wedding coming up in two weeks that I just haven't really had the time to sit down and focus on anything.**

**Luckily, a freak blizzard has hit in October and I had the whole day to write so here I am!**

**A very special thank you to: Sarahamanda, Ralaj, xxxxParvati-Patilxxxx, Forever True To Myself, MyriadProBold, fan girl 666, Shamen610, dreaminGemini, KandiceB, chubit, beauty0102, MDarKspIrIt and Lori94 for you lovely reviews, as always.**

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><p>"Wingardrium Leviosa!"<p>

A soft-barely there-smile graced Scorpius Malfoy's face as his pale blue eyes followed every twist and twirl of the feather that danced about above his head.

"Outstanding, Mr. Malfoy!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed, applauding the boy from his pedestal at the front of the classroom. "Very impressive for your first try. Five points to Slytherin."

Scorpius gently lowered the feather back down to it's stand and inclined his head towards his Charms teacher. "Thank you, Sir." He said as he slipped his wand back into the pocket of his robes.

He turned and walked back up the aisle towards his desk, head held high and a satisfied smirk on his face. Scorpius did not want to brag but he had known how to do the most basic of Charms since he was a child, his father taking the time to teach him while he was still harnessing his rapidly developing magic.

He remembered running around the garden, swinging a stick around as tiny pebbles would float around his head. He would shout imaginary incantations and make little zapping noises as he pointed the stick at the object of his spell and a pebble would tumble to the ground and the rise back up again.

His father would always be sitting around with him, watching and laughing as he played. He would take his wand out and make the pebbles dance elegantly together as he watched.

His father would spend hours in that garden with him, showing him the proper wand movements and pronunciations of the spells, smiling proudly down on him as he swished his little stick in a perfect imitation of his father.

Scorpius snapped out of his thought when he stumbled forward. He had to use both hands to brace himself against the desk beside him to stop himself from falling over.

Small clusters of laughter erupted from around him, the loudest from the set of desks behind him where a boy was sliding his foot out of the aisle and back under his desk.

Scorpius recognized him as Callum Willis, a Gryffindor who enjoyed spending his free time making Scorpius as miserable as possible.

A number of hexes flooded into Scorpius' mind but he shook his head, reminding himself that he had promised his father no more fights and he was not going to disappoint him because of some lowly Gryffindor.

He stood up and straightened his robes, walking the rest of the way back to his desk with his head up despite all the giggling around him.

Professor Flitwick called the class back to order and continued his lecture on the origins of the Levitation Charm.

Scorpius kept his head down, jotting down thorough notes, only glancing up briefly to scan the chalkboard before his attention returned to his parchment.

Every now and again though, a wadded up piece of paper would bounce off the corner of his desk or fly over his head but Scorpius ignored them, even as one paper ball struck him right on the forehead before rolling off his desk.

He looked up to see Callum staring and pointing at him with a smug look on his face, his partner in crime-another Gryffindor called Liam Jacobs-was watching him with an equally mischievous grin, his hands in the process of rolling a fresh piece of parchment up.

Scorpius rolled his eyes and returned to his notes, the grip on his quill slightly tighter as he set his mind more on the notes in front of him and not on the piece of paper that just hit his shoulder.

The classroom door creaked open and all heads turned as a Ravenclaw Prefect entered the room, swiftly descending down the aisle and proceeded to hand over a folded piece of paper to Professor Flitwick before exiting without a word.

All eyes watched in silence as the professor read over his note. When he finished, his folded it back up and tucked into his robes before climbing down from his pedestal. "Excuse me, class." He said, rushing up the center aisle. "I'll be back in a few minutes. When you're finished with your notes, you may begin on your homework assignment until I get back."

The moment the classroom door shut, the notes were forgotten and students began chatting with friends. Scorpius, on the other hand, kept to his school work. He did not get to be number one in the class by slacking off at every given moment to chat with friends. Not that he really had any to begin with.

Despite being told by his father that Slytherin house was the most loyal to be apart of, none of them were very eager to talk to him, some even avoided all eye contact with him.

He had heard stories about the war from other students, who taunted him with the horrible deeds that his family was accused of but it was hard for Scorpius to believe that his family was capable of such things.

He had planned to write to his father about the things kids were telling him. It was easy to pass off one or two comments as kids just being mean but when he was hearing the same stories for numerous sources and even from teachers, he began to have a sinking feeling that everyone knew something that he did not.

He glanced up once more, to check the final line of notes when another paper ball hit him right between the eyes, causing an uproar of laughter from the other students. His clenched his jaw and glared at Callum and his group of friends.

"What's the matter, Malfoy?" Callum asked with a heavy Irish accent, smirking at Liam. "Got nothing to say?"

Scorpius closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath. "I'd rather just focus on my work, thank you." He said, opening his eyes again and smiled stiffly at the boy, returning to the last sentence of his notes.

Despite having finished his work, Scorpius kept his head down and doodled aimlessly on his paper, refusing to look up as he continued to hear kids snickering and laughing around him. It was like someone had spelled time to slow down as class seemed to drag on endlessly.

He reached up to dip his quill in his inkwell when the tip tapped onto the wood of the desk. He looked up to see that his inkwell was no longer beside him.

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked around only to hear the laughter from the front of the room growing louder. He dared a glanced over to see a group of kids surrounding Callum and Liam's desk, all eyes on Scorpius but Scorpius was more focused on the fact that Callum's wand was pointing at him or rather above him.

He looked up and saw that his inkwell was levitating above his head. Before he had time to move out of the way or properly shield himself, the bottle tipped and ink splashed down over Scorpius' head, seeping into his platinum blonde hair, tracks of black running down his face.

Scorpius stood up, knocking his chair over in his haste. Laughter was all around him, as now every head turned to see what was going on. He brought his arm up and used the sleeve of his robe to wipe the ink away from his forehead.

Rage coursed through his veins as he ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the wet liquid slicking and seeping through his fingers, leaving them stained black. His crystal blue eyes rose and locked with Callum's glaring brown eyes as thoughts of clawing them out of their sockets danced in his mind.

There were many things Scorpius had learned to deal with since arriving at Hogwarts. He could take the verbal assaults, the shoves in the hallways and the paper balls but dirt under his nails and messed up hair was crossing the line to a Malfoy.

Callum leaned back in his chair, twisting his wand around fingers with a small smirk. "What are you gonna do about it, Malfoy?" He asked, clearly daring Scorpius to do something in retaliation.

Scorpius wanted to say something back, run across the room and wipe the smug look off of Callum's face but, as his anger reached it's breaking point, he remembered his father's words about not getting into anymore trouble and bottled his emotions, setting his face blank once more. "I'm not going to do anything." He said, his voice tight. "I just want to get my work done."

Callum scoffed. "Figures. You're a coward." He said, smirking back at his friends. "just like your dad."

Scorpius' body tensed, his fists clenched at his side. "Take. That. Back." He hissed, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"No."

"Take it back!" He demanded, taking a step forward.

Callum stood up and took a step towards Scorpius, looking down on him with a mocking look of pity. "No!"

Scorpius took another step forward, coming within inches of the other boy, his body shaking as his struggled to contain his anger. "My father is a great man."

"Your father is a piece of scum!" Callum said, leaning down so that he was nose to nose with the Slytherin.

Flecks of spit hit Scorpius' cheek as Callum said the word 'piece' and that was when Scorpius lost it. His vision was set on the boy in front of him, the only sounds he could hear was that of his heavy breath and the pounding of his heart in his chest. Rage flooded through his veins like a tidal wave and, with a primal yell, Scorpius lunged forward and shoved Callum as hard as he could.

The Gryffindor skidded back, his pose standing close behind to stop him from falling. A look of shock crossed Callum's face before transforming into anger. More students were starting to gather around, waiting to see what would happen next, some Slytherin's egging on for retaliation with a look of sinister delight.

Callum straighten up and strode back over and shoved Scorpius back. He stumbled but, having anticipated it, was able to keep a steady footing.

Scorpius snarled as the weeks of taunts and shoves played in his mind, feeding fuel to the fire burning in the pit of his stomach. He launched himself forward and used his shoulder as a battering ram, straight into Callum's chest.

A fist connected with Scorpius' right cheek as his foot connected with Callum's left knee. The two boys grappled together, landing as many punches, kicks, bites and pulls as they could before several pairs of hands grabbed them, pulling them apart.

Both boys were still pulling against their captors, the need to cause more damage to each other remaining at the forefront of their minds.

Scorpius blinked as Albus Potter stepped between the two of them, keeping his arms outstretched between them.

"That's enough." Albus said, looking to Callum and then over to Scorpius.

Scorpius stopped struggling, looking around to find that he and Callum were being held but a mixture of Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Slytherins while the few Hufflepuffs of the class stood off to the side, gossiping to themselves about what had just happened.

"Really, Albus?" Callum asked, panting as he pulled against Liam and burly Slytherin boy named Russell. "Are you seriously defending him?"

Albus turned away, his back to Scorpius and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're the one being the bully, Willis." He replied, matter-of-factly.

Scorpius could not stop the grin at Callum's incredulous face but grimaced as the bitter taste of copper entered his mouth from his split lip.

"I'm only speaking the truth." Callum yelled, glaring at Scorpius. "His father is a piece of scum and after everything his family has done, he shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near this school."

There was a collective group of nods from the other students surrounding Callum, some of them throwing in their own insults in Scorpius' direction, others just glared menacingly.

"He doesn't belong here." Callum whispered.

Albus took a step closer to Callum, his hands casually sliding into his pockets. "Just because his family name got dragged through the mud after the war, doesn't make him a bad person. In fact," He said, conversationally. "I can look around this room and point out a few students who's parents did far worse than the Malfoys and, yet, no one bothers them."

No one dared speak as a few guilty faced Slytherins sank back and disappeared into the crowd.

Albus watched them fall back and Scorpius could actually feel the smirk coming off of the young Gryffindor. "He received his letter just like all of us did." He said before crossing his arms over his chest again. "Unless you want to take that up with Headmistress McGonagall." He asked with a sarcastic edge to his voice. "I could go and get her if you'd like?"

"Nobody wants him here." Callum snarled, scowling at Scorpius then at Albus.

Albus leaned in close, bringing his face within inches of the other Gryffindor. "Last time I checked, you don't speak for the entire school population." He whispered, though still loud enough for everyone to hear. He stepped away and let his hands fall to his sides. "I don't have a problem with him. I find he's quite nice, actually."

He looked over his shoulder and smiled at Scorpius, which the boy returned as he was suddenly released from his captors. He looked around at the group of students standing behind him, a mix of all the houses, who were nodding their support of him.

Albus looked forwards once more and shrugged nonchalantly. "And, I think you don't have a clue what you're talking about."

"My parents fought in the war, I'll have you know."

"And my father won it!" Shouted Albus, causing a few students to recoil in surprise. "He has seen and done things that people can only dream of."

If Callum had been phased by Albus' outburst, he did not show it and just smirked. "Told you all his adventures, did he?"

"He doesn't keep things from my brother, sister or me. He wanted us to grow up knowing the consequences of ignorance."

"And you believe everything your daddy tells you?" Callum asked condescendingly.

Albus simply smirked. "My father doesn't tell lies."

Leaving Callum struggling for a retort, Albus turn around and reached out, taking Scorpius by the elbow and leading him away as the crowds started to disperse and talk amongst themselves, making it clear that Albus had won the argument.

"You okay?" He whispered to Scorpius, letting his hand drop to his side.

Scorpius nodded silently. Despite being grateful to the Gryffindor for defending him, his Malfoy pride was stinging a bit for not being able to handle the situation himself. His father always taught him that Malfoys do not need charity from others. They were a strong and proud family.

He glanced over at Albus once more and found the boy still smiling up at him. He could not fight the smile that crossed his lips. Yes, the Malfoys were a strong and proud family that did not accept charity but there was never a rule about taking aid from a friend.

As the pair walked, Albus opened his mouth to say something when a loud crack echoed through the room and Albus stumbled forward, slamming face first on the corner a nearby desk with a sickening crunch before crumpling to the floor.

Scorpius spun around and narrowed his eyes on Callum's friend, Liam. The boy had his wand in his hand, pointed at Albus while he laughed with Callum and a few of their other friends.

A surge of rage raced through Scorpius and, before anyone else had time to react, he had his wand out and cast _Contralectus_ at Liam.

The boy toppled over in his chair, his legs flailing wildly before crashing unceremoniously onto the floor. Callum quickly drew his wand and a jet of red shot across the room.

Scorpius flinches as the stream of light blinded him momentarily before it deflected off an invisible wall just inches in front of the boy's face.

Scorpius glanced over his shoulder to see Albus staggering to get to his feet, wand held firmly in his left hand, ensuring the Shielding Charm held, while his right was pressed to his face, a steady steam of blood oozing from between his fingers as he protected his broken nose.

Albus stepped forward to stand side by side with Scorpius. They shared a small smile before turning their attention to Callum, who had taken a defensive stance, wand trained on Albus while Liam climbed to his feet, holding his wand out at the pair as well.

Students were gathering in a circle around the four boys, all anxiously holding their breaths as they continued to stare at each other threateningly. Nobody moved. Nobody dared to even breath as the energy in the room reached a fever pitch.

And then, with the smallest flick of the wrist, Callum shot off a Stunning spell at Albus and the duel began.

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><p>"When conjuring a Patronus, you need to think of a happy memory. The happiest memory you have." Harry explained, standing in front of his class of captivated third years.<p>

His students had begged him incessantly since the beginning of the year to teach them how to produce a Patronus after hearing the tales of their professor's early abilities at the Charm. He had not originally had that in his lesson plan for such a young year as this was a practice he normally taught his fifth years and higher but after they impressed him on their late test on Boggarts, he decided that they earned a little treat.

Walking around his desk, he smiled at the wide eyed expressions on the faces of the young Gryffindors and Ravenclaws that occupied the room. Notes were completely ignored as they watched Harry's every move as to no miss a single instruction.

He drew his wand from it's sheath inside his robes and twirled it around in his fingers, chuckling to himself as the class straighten up to attention. "It can be anything from your first broom to your favorite holiday. Whatever makes you the happiest, latch onto it." He explained, taking a steady stance and raised his wand. "Let it fill you up and consume you." He flourished his wand and exclaimed, "_Expecto Patronum_!"

It had become almost second nature to Harry to produce a Patronus without a second thought. He could do it in his sleep without even uttering a word. He had to constantly remind himself that he was meant to be teaching and not showing off so he made sure that he enunciated the words clearly and correctly while displaying the proper wand techniques.

Awed gasped filled the room as a great silver stag burst from the tip of the wand and galloped majestically around the room.

Harry walked his Patronus weave through the rows of desks, the stag observing each student it passed with as much interest that the students showed it. "The longer you hold your memory, the longer your Patronus will remain." He continued, bringing the Patronus to stand beside him.

He looked up and glanced across the room, opening the floor to any questions about the day's lesson.

"Professor?" A small female voice came from the back of the room.

He raised an eyebrow and nodded to the Gryffindor, indicating for her to continue.

She looked over at her friend beside her, who giggled and elbowed her to ask the question. Her cheeks turned a tinge pink as she spoke, staring down at the top of her desk. "What is your happy memory?"

Harry's eyebrows raised in surprise and he lowered his wand, the stag disappearing into faint grey vapors. In all his years of teaching, he had never been asked that particular question. In all honesty, he had gotten so used to the Charm that thinking of a memory was never necessary anymore. The spell came as naturally as _Expelliarmus_ to him.

As he considered the question, he remembered how, when he was younger, he would think of the time he first found out he was accepted to Hogwarts, his summers with Ron and Hermione or the thought of living with Sirius. He would recall memories of his dates with Ginny before they were married, back when they were still happy.

He then thought of the birth of his children and the first time they smiled or spoke, their first steps and words. All the birthdays and holidays, the vacations and family get-togethers. The fights and tears and laughter.

Harry smiled and leaned back against his desk. "Well, if I could only pick one, I'd have to say-"

He broke off as a loud crash came from outside in the hallway. Standing up straight, Harry's Auror instincts triggered and he became acutely aware of every sound and movement around him. Students were shuffling around in the chairs at the disturbance and there were sounds of more students running in the halls back and forth in front of the classroom door.

"What the-" He muttered, marching up the center aisle. "I'm going to see what that was." He swung open the door and looked up and down the hall, seeing that there was a cluster of students gathering around the Charms classroom. "Stay here until I get back." He ordered and swept out of the room, closing the door behind him.

He jogged down the hallway, craning his neck over the heads of the crowding students to see if any other teachers had arrived yet or any sign of Professor Flitwick. As brilliant a wizard as he was, Flitwick was still very old, on the verge of retirement and would surely be in need of assistance if it was a spell gone wrong, as Harry suspected.

"Make way!" He called, pushing his way through the crowd as various yells and crashes sounded in the room ahead.

Kids around him began muttered at his appearance, some even backing off to let him through with looks of fear and panic on their faces. He could hear names being whispered and conversations about what had happened but nothing could really prepare him for what he saw when he reached the door of the classroom.

Tables were upturned and broken, smoke emanating from some particularly destroyed pieces. There were singes on the stone walls and floor from numerous spells and in the center of it all were four boys, all bloodied and bruised, wands in hand but forgotten as they shoved and punched with violent fury.

He immediately recognized the pieces of blonde hair as Scorpius Malfoy, despite the odd black streaks that ran through it, as he threw a weak punch at a Gryffindor named Callum. It was easily dodged and countered with a heavy punch to the jaw that sent Scorpius sprawling to the floor in a crumpled heap.

Callum turned and glared at the other two boys and Harry gasped as he saw his own son, Albus, who had another Gryffindor boy in a headlock. Callum yelled and shot off a Stunning spell at Albus when the boy's back was turned.

In a split second, Harry threw his wand up and cast a shield over Albus. As the spell ricocheted off the barrier, Albus looked behind him and connected a sharp kick to Callum's shin.

Callum cried out and fell over, clenching his leg. Albus quickly shifted his weight and threw the other boy down and proceed to place well aimed punches to the boy's side and stomach.

"ALBUS!" Harry yelled.

Albus' head sprang up and he froze, wide eyed. "Dad!" He exclaimed, looking around the room frantically, taking in the amount of damage done to the room and each other for the first time. He looked back at his dad, his eyes widening even further. "I can explain everything!"

More teachers, including Professor Longbottom and Professor Flitwick, appeared, pushing through the crowd after being alerted of the fight from fleeing students.

Flitwick squeezed past Harry and surveyed his ruined classroom in dismay while other professors took charge of breaking up the crowds and getting the students off to their next class without further disruption.

Harry walked over and took Albus by the elbow, yanking him to his feet. "You can explain in the hospital wing." He said, softly but sternly, moving forward to help Scorpius sit up while Neville assisted with helping Callum and his friend to their feet. "All four of you will." Taking in the injures to both parties, it was clear they needed more attention than a simple healing spell.

"Neville, mind watching my class for me while I handle this?" He asked, putting a comforting hand on Scorpius' shoulder and nodding to Albus, who was staring at his shoes and wiping some blood away from his now crooked nose.

"No problem." Neville smiled, stepping back from the other two boys. "Take your time, I've got a free period next."

"Thanks."

Without further word, the four boys shuffled out of the room, with Harry sticking close to Scorpius and Albus.

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><p><strong>I promise that Draco will be in the next chapter.<strong>

**Things will start progressing more after the next chapter, as well. I just need to finish the set up and then we can start on all the fun stuff. :)**

**I will do everything that I can that ensure that there are no other delays like this in the future.**

**Until next time, my dears.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, that took a lot longer than I anticipated. That's what happens when you have three weddings and a surprise baby shower to attend for family and friends, it sucks up a majority of your time. Fear not, though, I have not abandoned or forgotten about this story.**

**I'm terribly sorry for the wait. I hate when so much time goes by between new adds but I promise to have them come out sooner now that things are going to start picking up in the story.**

**Thank you so much to: Sarahamanda, QueenMinnie, xxxxParvati-Patilxxxx, kamui5, fan girl 666, starryeyeddaydreamer9, Makeupholic, kitty tokyo uzumaki, dreaminGemini, Lori94, MyriadProBold, Kay, WhipmyHair24, Lientjuhh, Antheiala and yukino89 for all your lovely reviews.**

**Thank you to everyone else who has favorited this story and added it to their alerts. It really means the world to me.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Harry leaned back against the hard wooden bench just outside of the Hospital Wing, his leg jittering up and down as he anxiously awaited news about his son.<p>

It had been nearly an hour since he delivered the four boys to the elderly school nurse, who was quick to shake her head in disapproval before effectively shooing Harry out of the room with a promise to update him as soon as she could before closing the heavy oak doors behind her.

He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his unruly hair as he continued to hear the sharp clicking of Madame Pomfrey's shoes against the stone floor. A few times he had shot up from his seat, thinking the approaching footsteps were for him but alas, the door remained closed.

Becoming restless, he stood and began to pace, sending a glance at the door with every pass. After nearly ten more minutes, the door creaked open and Madame Pomfrey stepped out with a sigh mixed with relief and exhaustion.

"How is he?" Harry asked, stepping forward to meet the witch at the doorway.

"They are all fine. A few bumps and bruises, Mr. Malfoy has a broken arm and a minor concussion while your son fractured his hand, nose and had a nasty gash on his head. I've administered the proper potions for pain and mending." She explained, holding her hand up to cease Harry from talking any more. "Mr. Willis' nose has been repaired while Mr. Jacobs just had a few cuts. I am keeping them all under observation for another hour, to make sure that the potions have had time to do their job."

Harry nodded. "Can I go in and see him now?"

Madame Pomfrey stepped aside and silently allowed him to pass into the room. He was glad to find that the boys had been separated from each other, Albus in a bed beside Scorpius while Callum and Liam were situated two beds away from each other on the opposite side of the room. He approached Scorpius' bed and took a seat.

Scorpius avoided eye contact with the teacher, bringing his bandaged arm up to his chest as he cowered into his pillow under Harry's stern gaze.

"What happened today, Scorpius?" Harry asked, glancing to his left to see Madame Pomfrey pulling the curtains closed on Callum and Liam's beds.

"They were just calling me names. Nothing new, really." He said in a small voice, tucking his chin into his chest.

Harry leaned in closer, resting his arms on the edge of the bed. "If it was nothing new then how did it lead to that fight?"

The boy sighed and slowly lowered his leg, letting his hands fall to his lap. "They were saying things about my father." He said, frowning deeply. "I know he said not to let it get to me but they were being so horrible, I couldn't just let them say that stuff and get away with it."

Harry nodded in understanding, remembering his own youthful temper when it came to disparaging comments against his father. "How did my son get involved in all of this?"

"He broke up the fight. Told Callum and Liam to back off or else he would get the Headmistress." Scorpius looked over to Albus' bed, where he was in the middle of speaking with Madame Pomfrey and being handed a bright blue colored potion, and smiled faintly. "He defended me and my father."

Harry could not stop his own grin and surge of pride in his offspring as Scorpius looked away and back to his hands. "We were walking back to our desks when Albus fell over and hit his head on the corner of a desk. It was Liam who tripped him." The boy's lips thinned and eyebrows furrowed. "I didn't really think about what I was doing. I saw Albus bleeding and the wand in Liam's hand so I just pulled out my wand and blast him back. That's when everything got out of hand."

"So, a duel broke out?"

Scorpius nodded.

Harry hummed in thought. "I can understand minor damage here and there but that classroom was completely demolished-"

"That wasn't our fault!" Scorpius interjected. "We were doing good, Albus and I, when Callum did some weird motion with his wand and the next thing we knew there was this giant explosion and we were all getting thrown across the room. That's when you showed up." He shifted in the bed to face Harry more, his eyes wide and shining with tears. "You have to believe me. I promise I never meant for it to get like that and-"

"Shh. Shh." Harry whispered, placing a gentle hand on the blond's shoulder. "I believe you."

"Y-you do?"

"I do." He nodded, squeezing Scorpius' shoulder as he stood up from his chair. "Now, I'm going to go check on Albus and then talk to the other boys and get their side of things. After that, I'll hand out any punishments and there will be punishments for all of you."

Scorpius looked away and nodded solemnly. "Yes, sir."

Just then the doors to the Hospital Wing opened and Draco Malfoy strode in, catching the medi-witch as she gathered some supplies from a nearby cabinet. "Where is my son?" He demanded in a hushed but firm voice.

Madame Pomfrey seemed unaffected by Malfoy's demanding tone and mutely pointed over her shoulder towards the boy's bed. Malfoy turned and immediately locked eyes with Harry. "Potter?" He questioned as he marched forward, molten silver eyes narrowing as they caught sight of Harry's son.

Harry let his hand drop from Scorpius' shoulder and walked forward, meeting Malfoy halfway. "I can assure you that Scorpius is just fine-"

"Why is it, Potter, that I have been summoned to this school twice in the past two weeks due to my son fighting and it seems as if your children are always not far behind?" Malfoy asked, cutting Harry off with a venomous tone. "What is their problem with my son?"

"For the record, Albus was helping Scorpius. The two students over there," He pointed over Malfoy's shoulder towards the drawn bed curtains across the room but Malfoy's glaring eyes never left Harry's face. "They were picking on your son, a fight broke out and Albus stepped in to protect Scorpius. From what I understand from Scorpius, an even bigger fight broke out afterwards."

Malfoy's eyes flickered over to his son then back again. "Where was the teacher when all of this happened?"

"Professor Flitwick was called out of the room." Harry explained. "It wasn't until I heard a rather large bang from my classroom down the hall that anyone realized something had happened but they are all fine, for the most part, and Madame Pomfrey assures me that they will be released in time for afternoon classes."

Without saying anything else, Malfoy stepped around Harry and took a seat beside his son in the chair that Harry had just vacated. Scorpius seemed even more shy and nervous with his father present but Harry knew it was not any fear of the man but anger at himself for going against his father's words to stay out of trouble.

Harry tried to send an encouraging smile to the boy as he made his way over to Albus' bed and took a seat, looking at his son with an amused grin as he squirmed in his bed.

Albus tried to smile back. "Are you mad?"

"I wouldn't say mad." He said with a sigh. "More upset than mad but I understand why you did it."

"Am I in trouble?"

"You better believe it." Harry said, letting himself chuckle a bit. "You lot destroyed a classroom! That definitely calls for a detention or two, don't you think?"

The corners of Albus' lips turned up as he looked away bashfully. "I suppose."

"I'm just glad that you're okay." He said, the smile gone from his face. "You lot could have gotten seriously injured." He reached out and took his son's hand. "You were lucky."

"I know." Albus mumbled. "What about mum?"

Harry had to fight the urge to groan at the mention of his ex-wife; Just imagining the conversation with her was enough to give him a headache. "Don't worry about that. I'll take care of your mother."

At that moment, as if fate was planning some sick joke on him, Ginny Weasley marched into the room.

Groaning audibly this time, Harry stood and patted his son's hand before walking over to meet Ginny at the door. "Ginny, what are you doing here?"

"Wondering what the hell this is." She hissed, a letter clenched tightly in her fist along with an envelope that Harry noticed bore the Hogwarts seal.

Harry crossed his arms across his chest and shrugged, eyes shifting from the letter back to Ginny's narrowed brown eyes. "I'm no expert but I'd say it's a piece of parchment." He could not help but smirk when her eye widened comically.

"Don't joke with me, Harry James Potter!" She exclaimed, swatting his shoulder with the fisted letter. "Explain to me why my calm morning was interrupted by a letter telling me that my son is in the Hospital Wing after getting into a fight."

"I don't know why they even sent you anything." He sighed. "He's fine."

"'Fine' is not lying in a hospital bed, Harry."

He rolled his eyes and uncrossed his arms, letting them fall to his sides. "It's not like he's getting transferred to St. Mungo's. He's waiting for a potion to wear off and then he's going back to class."

"What the hell is Malfoy doing here?" Ginny asked, as if she did not hear a word Harry had said, her eyes trained on the two blonds behind him. Her lips thinned as her jaw tightened. "What did his brat do to my son?" She asked, making to move forward towards them.

Harry caught her arm at the elbow and pulled her back, this time his eyes were narrowed and he spoke to her in a low tone, as to not draw any unwanted attention their way. "Do _not_ speak about one of my students like that." He said, holding her gaze until she eventually broke eye contact from him and he let go of her arm. "And don't assume you know anything about what has happened."

"And when was I going to find out what happened?"

"I was going to send you an owl tonight." He mumbled, his hands slipping into his pockets.

"Oh really?" She questioned, hands on her hips. "Like the last time?"

Harry frowned and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Ginny grinned. "Because, from what I hear, this isn't the first time one of our boys has gotten into an altercation in the past few days." She scoffed and looked away, frowning once more. "And they call me the irresponsible parent." She muttered under her breath but loud enough for Harry to hear.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Harry demanded.

"It means that you should be watching them more."

"What do you want me to do? Put a trace on them while I'm in class? While they're in the common room? They're kids. It happens. Just be thankful that it wasn't any worse." He ran a hand through his hair. "And speaking of watching them, where is Lily?"

Ginny shrugged. "I left her with Rick."

"Rick? What happened to Devon?"

She tossed her long red hair over her shoulder dismissively. "Devon and I haven't been together in quite some time."

Harry's eyebrow quirked up. "And how long have you been seeing Rick?"

"I think that's a bit of an inappropriate question."

"Oh my God, Ginny!" Harry exclaimed, taking a step back from her. "I don't like the idea of you leaving her with one of your one night stands."

Her mouth dropping in indignation. "I hardly think my love life is any of your concern."

"It is when my daughter is involved."

Once more, she rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You're being ridiculous."

"I still have a lot of enemies out there so it's not safe to leave her with a complete stranger."

"Rick is a very nice guy."

"I'm sure he is, for the whole five hours that you've known him." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he looked at his ex-wife in disapproval.

Ginny glared at him, her freckled face turning a light shade of red. "If you're quite finished with judging me," She said in a tight voice. "I'm going to go check on my son."

She knocked her shoulder in his arm as she passed, a bright smile gracing her face as she met eyes with her youngest son.

Harry continued to glare at her back, unable to believe her blatant non-concern over the danger she was putting their daughter in. He was not lying when he said that he had a fair list of enemies from his years as an Auror and even some Death Eaters that were still in hiding.

Ginny had assured Harry numerous times after their divorce that she understood the risks and was quick to remind him that she had been one of the top members of Dumbledore's Army and did perfectly fine looking after all three children while Harry was away on assignment. However, over the years, Harry had seen his ex-wife digress into more of a reckless teenager than a mother.

With a resigned sigh and looked away in time to catch Malfoy's steely eyes trained on him. The muscles in Harry's back tensed as the two held eye contact while Scorpius continued to chatter on, oblivious to his father's adverted attention.

He was not sure if Malfoy had heard any of their conversation or had just picked up on the obvious tension between the two and his eyes gave away no answers either. It seemed as if they were frozen in time, both men stuck in a never ending staring contest until Malfoy slowly blinked and turned his head back to his son, engaging him in conversation as though he had never missed a word.

Harry watched the blond for a moment more before shaking his head clear and crossing the room to speak with Callum and Liam.

He had closed the curtain between their beds and cast silencing charms to ensure that neither boy could hear the other, ensuring that he would be able to find any flaws in their stories and sure enough, both boys provided two very different stories from what he had heard from Scorpius and Albus but both claiming that it was, in fact, them who were defending the class from Scorpius' apparent dark ways.

Harry sat with the boy and listened to their elaborate tale of heroism until their parents arrived. He opted to step aside and allow Madame Pomfrey to explain everything to them while he went to see how Albus was fairing.

He could not help but smile when he saw his son grimace as Ginny repeatedly ran her fingers through his hair. Albus was always an affectionate boy. He was the first one to race to the door and throw himself at Harry when he returned home from work, insisted on holding hands when they were walking down Diagon Alley - as large crowds made him uncomfortable - and was never one to turn down a goodnight kiss on the forehead.

But like all children, Albus was growing up and it was immediately apparent to Harry that the days of getting a hug in public from his youngest son at the risk of his fellow classmates seeing were now over. He came to a halt at the foot on Albus' bed and leaned against footboard, sending his son an amused smile as Albus' eyes pleaded with him to make his mother stop petting him.

As sad as it made Harry feel to see his children grow up, he was always up for taking pleasure in his son's discomfort for a few moments longer before coming to his rescue.

"What do you think, Sweetheart?" Ginny cooed, her voice sickeningly sweet as she slid her hand down from Albus' hair to his cheek. "I'll go get your brother and, once you're released, we'll go out to eat wherever you want." She smiled broadly with an encouraging nod. "You deserve it after the day you've had."

Harry caught the nervousness in his son's eyes and decided it was time to end his suffering. "Ginny, I don't think that's a good idea."

Ginny glanced over her shoulder at him, cold eyes and thin lips. "Why not?" Her voice was pleasant and controlled but Harry could hear the hint of annoyance in it.

He stood up straight once more and made his way around the bed so that they could speak more privately, his eyes acutely noticing Malfoy's continual glances in their direction. "Because they both have afternoon classes and homework. He's going to be exhausted as it is with the potions-"

"Exactly. All the more reason to take him out for some fresh air." She cut him off, smiling at Albus.

Harry sighed, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. "He needs to get his work done and to rest."

She shrugged. "I'll just ask McGonagall-"

"Ginny, I said no." He said, more forcefully.

The muscles in the red headed woman's back tensed and her hands fell away from her son to the white bed sheets, in tight fists. "Don't talk to me like I'm one of your students." She said through clenched teeth.

"Then stop acting like one." He muttered.

In a flash, she was on her feet. "Where do you get off-"

Just as quickly, Harry had his hand on her arm and was pulling her away. "Not in front of Albus." He whispered but his eyes cautiously glanced over her shoulder to Malfoy, who was quietly talking to Scorpius but Harry could tell from the awkward angle of his body in the chair that he was also trying to listen in.

He led her away towards the entrance of the wing, ignoring her indignant gasps as he pulled her alongside him.

"You can't tell me what I can and cannot do with my own children." She hissed, wrenching her arm out of his grasp.

Harry took up a naturally defensive stand with his arms crossed over his chest. "Technically, I can. I do have custody."

Hurt flickered in her eyes briefly. "That's not fair." She bit out tersely.

"You're right." Harry agreed, shrugging his shoulders. "It's not, but that's how it is."

The red head took a step closer to her ex-husband and whispered venomously. "But I'm their mum." Her hazel brown eyes were ablaze with anger and determination.

Harry knew that he had to pick his words very carefully, reminding himself that this was not just any woman he was speaking to. It was a Weasley and from his years observing Mrs. Weasley, there was rarely a time the fiery mother backed down from a fight, no matter how big or small. It was even more volatile when the children were involved.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly before opening his eyes once again. "Yes, you are and I would _never_ take that away from you." He said softly, his arms dropping from his chest. "You, of all people, know how important it is to me that the kids have both of us in their lives and I have never denied you access to them."

Ginny opened her mouth to protest but Harry was quicker and held his hand up to stop her. "All those times that you showed up at my flat unannounced to take them out or the times you turned a simple trip to get ice cream into a weekend sleepover. Any other person would have turned you into the courts for breaching the custody agreement."

As Harry spoke, Ginny remained silent, looking down at her feet like a scolded child, even wincing when the courts were mentioned.

Harry sighed and laid his hand on her arm gently, leaning towards her until she looked up and met his gaze. "But, in all honesty, I couldn't care less about the agreement."

Her eyes widened dramatically and Harry could not help but chuckle lightly at how quickly Ginny's moods changed whenever they argued.

"As long as they want to see you then I won't stop them. However, I draw the line at interrupting their schooling. It's bad enough that he has two classes to make up work on, he can't handle a whole afternoon block's worth of work especially when he's going to have a few Saturday detentions coming up." He squeezed her arm then let go, shoving his hands into his pockets. "If you want, come back on the weekend and you can take them out for the day but I want them back, not on the grounds but inside the castle, by curfew."

"I understand." She nodded stiffly.

Harry returned the nod and made to head back over to Albus when he paused and looked back. "Oh and Ginny, if you come this weekend, I expect you to either bring Lily with you or leave her with proper and trustworthy supervision and so help you, if I ever find out that you leave her with some stranger again, I'll find a way for her to stay her with me during the year or arrange for Ron and Hermione to care for her until the summer. I'm sure Hugo would love the company."

Ginny gaped at Harry. "That's a bit hypocritical, don't you think?" She questioned. "Telling me that you'll never deny me my kids then threatening to take one away."

"I question your judgment sometimes," He said simply. "And I don't trust the men you bring around Lily-"

Ginny scoffed. "You've never met them."

"But I've heard all about them. I'm giving you fair warning." He stared at her hard, knowing full well that she was aware that Hermione has told him all about the many male visitors that have entered his former home. "Are we clear?"

She was silence for a moment, holding his stare with equal intensity. "Tell Albus that I'll write him tonight to arrange a day I can take him and his brother out."

"I'll let him know to expect your owl."

Looking torn between crying or screaming, Ginny nodded once more before she turned on her heels and marched out of the room.

Harry watched her leave with a sense of apprehension. He knew all too well that after that particularly bad encounter, the likely hood of him seeing Lily anytime soon had become slim. Anger bubbled up in his chest at the thought of his daughter being used as a way of punishing Harry for things that he, himself, had no control over.

He was drawn out of his musing to the sound of Albus shouting. He turned to find the parents of Callum and Liam standing by Scorpius' bed. Malfoy was sat, rigid and straight up in his seat with his hand clutching his son's. Scorpius kept his head down as one of the men-a tall, broad shouldered, gentlemen with chestnut hair spoke to the elder Malfoy.

Albus was red in the face, shouting at the woman closet to him, who sneered down at him while holding tight to her husband's arm.

Madame Pomfrey seemed stuck in the middle of both disputes and the witch looked increasingly nervous the more the group closed in on the bed.

"What now…" Harry groaned and ran a hand through his hair. He approached quickly, moistening his lips and he rounding the group to stand by Albus, who was still shouting and glaring at the adults in front of him.

"I want this boy expelled immediately!" The woman Albus had been yelling at shrilled, pointing an accusatory finger at Scorpius, who frowned and turn his head away from her, his blond hair falling forward to hide his face from view.

"Dad!" Albus cried, grabbing hold of Harry's sleeve. "Do something!" His tear filled eyes pleaded with him desperately.

"I'm going to go get the Headmistress." Madame Pomfrey whispered to Harry and then fled the room quickly.

Harry looked down at his son and smiled weakly, prying his hand off of his arm and setting it back onto the bed with a small pat. He took a breath and stepped closer, now standing in front of the woman he knew to be Callum's mother. He put on his best smile, the one he saved for speaking to parents or the press, the one that normally charmed even the most cynical of people. "What seems to be the problem here?"

The broad shouldered man, Callum's father, glared at both Malfoys. "I want this boy away from my son."

"He's across the room from him." He said with a light hearted smirk. "How much further away would you like him?"

Callum's father turned his glare to Harry. "This is no laughing matter, Mr. Potter. My son is lying in a hospital bed after being maliciously attacked by this…this child." He spat the last two words out as if they were hardly a suitable description of Scorpius.

"He should be expelled." Liam's mother spoke up, receiving an approving nod from her husband.

The smirk dropped from Harry face as he realized that humor and charm was not going to work with this group. These were the kind of people he had dealt with all through the trials and even his time with the Aurors. The people who could not look past the Mark. The ones who felt like justice needed to still be served. No, Harry knew that he had to take a more direct path with people like that.

He rounded his shoulders and pursed his lips. "If that's the case then my son and your boys should be expelled as well."

"DAD!" He heard Albus screech behind him.

"It's true, Albus." He said without raising his voice. He made sure to keep it as casual as he could, keeping eye contact with Mr. Willis as he could tell that that man was the leader type. The aggressor. "You were all involved in this fight and you all caused serious and equal damage to school property." He paused, waiting to see if Albus would argue but when he was met with silence he chose to speak directly to Callum's father. "So, tell me Mr. Willis, why does Scorpius deserve to be expelled above all the others?"

Mr. Willis snorted in derision. "This is ridiculous! This should not have even happened because _he_ should not have been allowed in this school." Again, he spoke of Scorpius as though it was hard for him to fathom the boy as an actual person rather than a thing.

Harry let his eyes drift over to Malfoy, who continued to sit perfectly still in his seat, adamantly refusing to get involved. After the trials, the Malfoys were given strict guidelines to their release. They were not to use magic on another individual, even in emergency situations, unless there was an Auror or other authorized supervision present, their vaults were monitored to ensure no suspicious use and, the most important of all, if there was ever a claim brought against the Malfoys for violence-of any kind-the would be forced to relinquish their wands and serve whatever punishment was placed upon them.

Harry could see the red creeping up Malfoy's neck as the blonde fought to keep his composure. He could see how hard it was for Malfoy to listen to someone speak about his child like that and not do something about it.

"I can't even tell what's worse about it," Mr. Willis continued. "The fact that the Headmistress even allowed Slytherin to continue after the war or that Death Eaters are even allowed to breed." He sneered at the blond. "Filth only breeds more filth."

In a flash, Malfoy was on his feet, hand on his side where his wand was no doubt holstered. His eyes were alight with murderous fury that was felt by all in the room.

The women immediately took a few steps away, in fear of the Slytherin while Liam's father had his wand already in his hand, ready for whatever was bound to come.

But just as quickly as all of that happened, Harry had crossed the short distance and stepped between the two men, blocking the Malfoys from Mr. Willis, with a cold look.

"That is enough!" He growled. "You're right, Mr. Willis, it is not a laughing matter. It's not _funny_ that those boys tormented Scorpius to the point where he had to resort to physically defending himself. It is not _funny_ that they then attacked my son, when his back was turned, for coming to Scorpius' aid and it sure as hell isn't _funny_ that these four boys had to end up in the Hospital Wing all because your two boys are nothing more than little bullies."

The two mothers gasped at Harry's insult about their children but remained back as the four men stared each other down, a tense energy taking over the room.

Liam's father inched closer to Mr. Willis, his wand still visible in his hand. "Is that what you were told?" He asked, a snaky grin on his face.

"That is what I know." He stating, taking a step forward. He smirked when the two men visibly recoiled at his movement. "You see, I picked up this handy skill while I was an Auror to tell when someone is lying to me and, to be quite frank, I didn't even need that when I asked them for their stories." He explained, looking over their shoulders towards Callum and Liam. "They came across as almost smug about it."

The four parents looked nervous now as Harry continued to walk closer to them, his voice becoming less threatening and back to his pleasant tone that he used in the beginning. "Now, I have zero tolerance for bullies in this school, especially ones that have no problem with attacking others while their backs are turned and clearly show no remorse for what they do."

He took a final step forward so that he stood toe to toe with the two men, his eyes were unflinching as he stared at both of them. He exuded an air of such confident and power that neither man dared to move a muscle. "I'm not the kind of person who enjoys or flaunts the status that I've gained since the war." He spoke just loud enough for the men to hear him. "That being said, if your boys so much as look at Scorpius, Albus or any other student, for that matter, in a negative way and I find out about it, I will see to it that they are expelled and I will call in ever favor I have to see to it that no wizarding school will take them."

The doors to the room opened and the hurried clicking of heels told Harry that Madame Pomfrey had returned with Headmistress McGonagall.

Harry leaned in closer until his nose bushed against Mr. Willis. "Do I make myself perfectly clear?" He hissed.

Both nodded and he stepped back, brushing invisible lint from Mr. Willis' shoulder and smiled softly at Mr. Jacobs, who was pocketing his wand as McGonagall approached.

"Mr. and Mrs. Willis, Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs," Headmistress McGonagall spoke, shifting her gaze warily between Harry and the others. "If you will please follow me to my office, we'll discuss the damage to the classroom." She held her arm out in silent invitation for the two families to make their way out to her office. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, if you would both join us soon, we can go over punishments."

They both nodded silently and she took her leave.

Without a word, Malfoy sat back down. Scorpius looked visibly upset over the altercation that had just happened and Malfoy was speaking to him in hushed tones in a clear attempt to calm him down.

"That was awesome, dad!" Albus cheered as Harry came over to his bedside in order to give the Malfoy's some privacy.

Harry smiled despite himself and ruffled his son's brunet locks. "Don't think that gets you out of anything."

Albus deflated, sagging down against his pillow. "I know." He mumbled.

Harry smoothed out Albus' hair with a small grin. He always loved Albus' hair. He was the only one of his children that inherited both parent's traits when it came to hair. Harry's color and thickness but Ginny's softness. It made it easy to muse and just as easier to set back in place, much unlike Harry's unruly mop.

"Hey, dad?" Albus asked, after a moment.

Harry continued to play with the boy's hair as he hummed in response.

"Do I have to go to dinner with mum?"

He froze momentarily and frowned, letting his hand drop to Albus' shoulder and squeezed lightly. "You go only if you want to."

"I don't want to hurt her feelings though." He said, subconsciously pulling at the bed sheets in front of him.

"Then just blame it on all the detentions I'm sure you're going to have." He said with a chuckle, nudging the boy until he finally cracked a smile. He slid his arm around his son's shoulder and pulled Albus to him, placing a kiss on the top of his head. "We'll talk about it later, alright?"

Albus nodded and pulled away, flattening his hair as if he was attempted to wipe the kiss away.

"Thank you, Professor." Scorpius called as Harry passed his bed.

Harry nodded and grinned at the boy. "I'll see you on Saturday, Scorpius." He said and walked on, ignoring Malfoy's burning gaze on the back of his head.

He exited the ward and walked right to the opposite wall, leaning his forehead against the wall with a gratifying groan as the cool stone soothed the pounding in his head.

He closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly, willing his heart rate down. It had taken him years to harness his emotions, especially his anger. When he was younger, he admitted to having terrible control over his anger and often lashed out at his friends and even Ginny, in the early stages of their engagement. The Auror training had helped him a lot with his anger management.

Even with all of his training and willpower though, it was extremely hard for Harry not to let his 'dark' side come out when he had spoken to Callum and Liam's parents. He already knew that if he was not a professor at the school, he would not have held back when any form of threat was made against his son but Harry also felt the same surge of protectiveness over Scorpius.

It was amazing that over just a short period of time, that little Slytherin had managed to make such an impact on him. He could not fully place what it was about the boy, though. Maybe it was the fact that he was so different from his father or the fact that Scorpius was everything that his father _could have been_.

"Potter."

'_Speak of the devil.' _Harry thought and turned away from the wall, leaning his back against it for support. "What is it, Malfoy?" He asked. His eyes were still closed but he could feel the other man standing close by. "I've got a splitting headache and four classes left to teach so, I really can't handle much more right now."

"You know, you are a wizard." He said, in a manner that Harry was not accustomed to hearing out of the Slytherin. He sounded friendly. "A simple spell or potion would get rid of that headache."

Harry cracked one eye open and then the other then blinked as his eyes readjusted to the afternoon light that shone in the corridor.

Malfoy stood only a few feet in front of him, hands gracefully placed in his pockets. His body language was completely at ease compared to the tension he had back inside the hospital room.

It nearly brought Harry's blood to a boil at his now cavalier attitude.

Harry gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. "That's not the point!" He snapped.

Malfoy raised his hands up to show surrender. "Sorry for trying to lighten the tension a bit." He said, keeping his hands out to show he really did not mean any harm.

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. "What do you want?"

"I suppose I owe you a…" He cleared his throat, shoving his hands back into his pockets. "A t-thank you." He stammered, shifting his weight uncomfortably from one foot to another.

"Seriously?" He asked, unconvinced.

The blond shrugged, looking at a spot just above Harry's head. "After what you said in there, I guess it's only polite."

Harry was momentarily speechless. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would see the day where Draco Malfoy would be thanking him for something. He did not even have the decency to give Harry a nod of appreciation when he stuck his neck out for him to keep the former Slytherin out of Azkaban.

"No one should talk to you or Scorpius, especially Scorpius, like that." He said, finally. "They weren't there. They didn't see the things that I saw. I stick by what I said before, you're a good person, Malfoy," He pushed away from the wall and looked over Malfoy's shoulder, into the hospital room, where he could see Scorpius and Albus laughing about something. He smiled. "And you have a brilliant son."

Their eyes met in that moment and Harry saw the corners of Malfoy's lips curl upwards. He returned the smile and turned away to head to McGonagall's office.

"Fancy a drink right about now?" Malfoy called suddenly, jogging up so he could walking alongside Harry.

"Was that a rhetorical question or are you offering?"

"Well, -I mean- you did save my life twice and defended my son twice now. I figured this would count as a small token of gratitude." He said casual. "Besides, if I'm going to have to sit in McGonagall's office with those sad excuses for parents and not hex something, a drink is right up my alley."

Harry could not stop the sudden burst of laughter and found himself spurred on when Malfoy laughed with him. "I appreciate the offer but, as I said, I have classes. Neville has already covered two of them for me."

"I don't blame you for want to get back." He said, composing himself as the rounded the corner that led to the Headmistress' office. "Safe those poor kids from Longbottom."

"Hey," Harry said, stopping in his tracks and, once again, glaring at his old school nemesis. "Neville is an amazing wizard."

Malfoy sighed and shook his head. "I-reluctantly-am not denying that. For a Gryffindor, he has his talents but he's just so boring." He groaned, drawing out the 'o' as though that drove home his point. "All he ever talks about are plants."

Harry snickered. "He is the Herbology teacher, after all."

"You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and I don't see you going on and on about spells and the dangers of dark magic every five seconds."

"How would you know?" Harry asked. "This is the longest we've been around each other since the trials."

"And you haven't said one word about spell or dark magic."

"Touché." He smirked and came to a halt in front of the gargoyle that guarded McGonagall's office. "Guess we should go and get this little meeting over with."

"How about tonight?" Malfoy asked quickly, before Harry could utter the password.

Harry spun around quickly. "Excuse me?"

"Drink. Tonight. How about it?"

"Why are you being so insistent about this?" Harry asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Again, Malfoy shrugged and began to shift his weight around anxiously. "Because I owe you something and I was raised to always pay my debts so, it's either you let me buy you a drink or I buy you something very big and very lavish and that will just make things weird."

Harry watched the blond silently. He had to admit, he was curious to find out what Malfoy had up his sleeves. He turned around and gave the password to the gargoyle. "I have to stay through dinner so, if you don't mind meeting up later-"

"That's fine." Malfoy said quickly - too quickly, Harry took quick note of. "I figure, since I'm already up here, we can make it easy and meet in Hogsmeade. The Three Broomsticks?"

"Yeah, that works." Harry nodded and stepped up onto the staircase to the office. "I'll meet you there at eight?"

"Eight o'clock it is."

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><p><strong>So, our boys are meeting for drinks. What harm could possibly come from that? ;)<strong>

**Review and let me know what you think.  
>Until next time, my lovelies!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm just going to say that I am so unbelievably sorry and kind of ashamed of myself that I let over a year go by without adding to this. I won't bog this area down with explanations (I'll save that for the end of the chapter) but I want you guys to know that no matter how much time goes by, I have NOT abandoned this story. I have a bunch of chapters planned out already and more in the works and I will complete this story. That I can promise you.**

**Special thanks to: 107602, AcadianProud, Makeupholic, kitty tokyo uzumaki, Lientjuhh, CaramelAriana, Tiliapetiolaris, xxxxParvati-Patilxxxx, mari, Sarahamanda, AppalachianDaisy, RRW, MyriadProBold, You're All So Vacant, MultiColouredFlooPowdeR, Lori94, suishyou, MDarKspIrIt, beauty0102, xxXAngelDreamerXxx, weareserialkillers, Mila Pink, FinalVerse, EmeraldEyed, Mashkai30, AJB66613, JustAnotherEccentric, and Draco's Felix for your lovely, humorous, and deeply humbling reviews. **

**Thank you to everyone who has begun followed this story and those who have added it to their favorites. **

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 8<span>

Harry cursed himself as he jogged down the dark path from Hogwarts leading into the village of Hogsmeade.

He glanced down at his watch, as he cleared the trees and entered the high street, the moon shining down on the watch face.

'_Twenty minutes late.' _He cursed himself again.

He walked briskly, keeping his head low as to not get stopped by any of the residents that were still out. The air was crisp and chilly as the summer warmth began to fade into the early signs of fall so no one paid him any mind, as many others hid behind scarves or had their jacket collars pulled up high on their necks.

He only looked up once he had passed Honeydukes and approached the Three Broomsticks, speeding up slightly when he noticed a figure leaning against the wall next to the entrance of the establishment, the shock of blond illuminated even more brighter from the light coming out of the pub's front window.

"I am so sorry!" Harry huffed, jogging the last few steps to stand in front of Malfoy.

Malfoy shrugged nonchalantly, standing up straighter as Harry approached. "No worries." He assured him, straightening his jacket. "It was nice out. Shall we?"

He held the door open for Harry, who muttered a thank you as they stepped in and found a table near the back, away from the regular patrons who, thankfully, kept to their own business.

"I must admit, I was wondering if you were going to show at all." Malfoy said, hanging up his jacket on the back of chair before sitting down across from Harry. "I'm surprised that you did."

Harry gave a long sigh and ran a hand through his frazzled and slightly wind swept hair. "I would have been here on time but there was a bit of an incident in the Great Hall at dinner."

Malfoy looked curious but did not respond, clearly waiting for Harry to continue with an explanation.

"Some first year Ravenclaws decided that dinner would be the best time to practice their Wingardrium Leviosa charms." Harry explained with a small chuckle. "Well, too much swish and not enough flick and a small pudding fight occurred."

Draco laughed along with him, as the image of Harry and the other professors dramatically dodging plates of pudding and cakes played out in his head. "And here I was thinking it was something boring like correcting paperwork that held you up so long."

Harry's laugh faded away, a small smile still on his face as he watched Malfoy curiously.

"What?" Malfoy asked, slightly weary of the expression on the other man's face.

"Nothing." Harry shook his head. "It's just…you've grown up."

Draco could not help but roll his eyes. "Obviously." He drawled.

"No, I just meant, the Draco Malfoy I knew would never have asked me to get a drink with him," Harry said, arching his eyebrows as if to say 'you know I'm right'. "And definitely would not have waited two minutes for me to show up, much less twenty minutes."

He shrugged, looking at a spot over Harry's shoulder. "Like I said, it's a nice night out."

Harry did not feel satisfied in the least with his answer and felt like there was more to it that he wanted answers to.

Before he could question his companion any further, though, the waitress approached the table, smiling warmly at them, her gaze pausing on Harry longer than was deemed necessary. "What can I get you two?" She asked, flashing an inviting smile at them.

"A firewhiskey, please." Malfoy said.

"Just a butterbeer for me, thanks." replied Harry, with a courteous smile.

Malfoy scoffed, nodding his thanks all the same to the waitress as she walked away to get their drinks.

"What?" Harry asked with an innocent smirk. "I agreed to get a drink with you. I said nothing about it being alcoholic."

Malfoy sagged back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, dejected. "Come on, Potter. Live a little."

"Need I remind you that, while I'm not in my teaching robes, I am still a professor." Harry said, leaning his elbows on the table, talking to the blond like he would one of his students who would sulk over having received a detention. "I have responsibilities. I can't very well go back to the castle piss drunk."

A reluctant smile tugged at the corners of Malfoy's lips and he met Harry's eyes. "I would pay to see McGonagall's face, if you did."

They were silent for a moment before bursting into laughter at the thought of an irate Minerva McGonagall, standing in the Entrance hall, in her nightgown and hairnet, berating a plastered Harry on the proper conduct of her faculty, while he slurred his way through the latest Celestina Warbeck song.

The waitress returned and handed their drinks out to mutual thanks from both men and they sank back into a companionable silence as they sipped their drinks.

"So, tell me." Malfoy said, breaking their silence and causing Harry to nearly slosh butterbeer down his front as he jumped. "How are classes coming along for you?"

Harry swallowed his mouthful of the warm drink, coughing a bit as some went down the wrong pipe. "No major trouble makers, thankfully," He said, clearing his throat. "but the subject is so restricted now that it's hard to keep the kids' attention. I've had to resort to going a bit above what is required of the curriculum just to save the class from becoming as boring as History of Magic."

Malfoy nodded. "I never understood the motivation to restrict the subject. There are far greater things to learn in that class than just dark spells."

Harry slapped his hand down on the table. "That's what I tried to explain to the Ministry when they agreed to reinstate it." He exclaimed, leaning in closer to Malfoy. "It should be taught the same as it always had been and to all years."

"How could it be taught the same as always when we never had a normal year of that class when we were at school?" He asked. "I think you now hold the record for holding that teaching position the longest," He took a slow sip of his firewhiskey, watching Harry from over the top of his glass. "and that's not saying much."

"But it's not just my subject. Their decision to completely cut Care of Magical Creatures was complete rubbish." Harry said.

Malfoy nodded slowly, eyebrows raised, as he ran a finger around the rim of his glass. "I tend to avoid politics and Ministry handlings now a days."

Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "But you had to have questioned not seeing it on Scorpius' book list?"

He frowned, his eyes still glued to his glass of firewhiskey. "My ex-wife, Astoria, took Scorpius shopping for his school things, actually." He said softly.

"Oh." Harry murmured.

The blond cocked his head to the side. "You sound surprised by this." He said, eyes narrowing skeptically.

"No…it's just-" He paused, wrapping his hands around his mug of butterbeer, wincing at he looked up at the Slytherin. "I may have looked at your divorce files."

"Gryffindor curiosity got the better of you?" Malfoy asked though he did not sound angry by Harry's admittance.

Harry flushed, having to look away once again from the other man's steady gaze.

Of course, Malfoy was right. Harry was far too curious for it own good and could not help himself but to look into the history of his old classmate.

He cleared his throat but kept his eyes lowered, afraid that Malfoy would see through his cover. "Look, you're out of touch with things in the Ministry." He glanced up just enough to see Malfoy nodding in agreement before returning his focus to his mug once more. "Well, I'm out of touch with things in society. I didn't even know you had a son, much less were divorced." He said. "I wanted to found out more about Scorpius."

"And the dealings of my divorce were one of them?" ask Malfoy.

Harry sighed and sank back into his chair, throwing his arms up in defeat. "Alright, fine!" He exclaimed. "I was also, a bit, curious about it and yes, I am surprised because after reading what I did, I don't know how you could even allow him around her after the things she had said about you."

Malfoy was silent for a moment before he said, "It was for her parents." He leaned back in his seat as well. "Astoria, honestly, couldn't care less about Scorpius but her parents adore him and they respect me for how I'm raising him so I allow them to see him."

Harry shook his head in confusion. "But if she didn't care, why did she stay until he was seven?"

"It was an unfortunate factor in the marriage clause." He let out a long sigh, his shoulder visibly sagging as the breath left him. "To be honest with you, Astoria and I barely even liked each other when we married. The reasons for our union were very simple: She was a single, beautiful, pureblooded witch, who's family needed money and I was a single, handsome, pureblooded wizard with unlimited funds and needing an heir. It was a marriage of convenience.

"The contract stated that she had ten years to bear an heir. At which point, she was free to stay in the marriage or leave with sufficient compensation." He explained.

Harry leaned forward as if drawn to the blond, his curiosity increasing steadily. "If that was the case, why didn't she just leave when Scorpius was born?"

"We were in such a rush to wed, with the trials ending and all, that we neglected to read the contract as carefully as we should have and missed the twist in the wording. Instead of it meaning that we had ten years to have an heir, it made it so that we had to be _married_ for ten years before the contract could be voided, regardless of when the child was born." He replied.

"But I remember the Prophet announcement." Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief. "You were married a few months after James was born and Scorpius was only seven when you separated."

Malfoy paused to take a sip of his drink before continuing. "We had been secretly married for two years but were having trouble conceiving." He gave a single, sad chuckle that came out like a huff. "Astoria blamed it on all the press scrutiny following the trials and the stress of being in a secret marriage but, in all honesty, it was because neither of us wanted to really try."

"So, why wait two years to actually tell people that you were married?" Harry asked, trying to wrap his mind around this new information. "Surely you weren't still being harassed."

Malfoy sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You were the reason, actually."

"Me?" asked Harry.

Malfoy nodded. "She became furious when you announced that you were expecting your second child. She wanted the same fan fair, to be featured on the cover of the Prophet, to be treated like a proper wife."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "So, we announced our engagement and sold the story of our private ceremony a month later. She was pregnant before the end of the year. Scorpius was born on our third wedding anniversary."

Malfoy was silent for a moment again, seemingly lost in thought or stuck in a sad memory. "When she realized that she had to stay for the full ten years, she completely withdrew. She shut herself in her room, only coming out for meals or outings with her parents. The only time she spent with Scorpius was holidays and his birthday. I was basically a single father from the moment he was born. She lasted ten years and one day.

"She was nice enough to stay for Scorpius' seventh birthday." He added, laughing bitterly.

"First thing, the next morning, she stormed into my study and presented me with two pieces of paper. One was the divorce papers. The other was the amount of money, property, and stocks that she felt she was owed from the marriage.

"I signed the papers, sent the owl to Gringotts to transfer the funds and she was gone by lunch." His jaw clenched. "She didn't even brother to say goodbye to Scorpius."

"Why would she go after custody of Scorpius, if she didn't want him?" Harry asked, raising his mug up to his lips.

Malfoy followed his movements, bring his own glass up. "Because she's a vindictive bitch." He said then took a sip.

Harry sputtered and coughed as butterbeer dribbled down his chin.

Malfoy smirked and passed him a napkin, snickering as his drinking partner wiped his face off. "I'm not entirely sure why, either." He said, honestly, still watching as Harry mopped up some of his drink off of the table. "Maybe she just wanted to hurt me where it would hurt the most. Family and money." He shrugged nonchalantly, dropping his eyes away from the Gryffindor once Harry was no longer distracted from his mess. "If she got custody of Scorpius then I would lose my heir and I would have to pay to support them, despite her already being back with her former lover.

He smirked. "When you stop and think about it, the fact that the contract made her stay for so long was really a blessing in disguise."

"How so?" Harry asked.

"If she left once Scorpius was born, I would have lost him. No question about it. The Wizengamot, thankfully, talked to him during one of our hearings and he insisted on staying with me. That is the one credit I will give the Ministry." He said, meeting Harry's eye. "They may not like Death Eaters but they sure do have a soft spot for children."

Any other person would have said that the things Malfoy went through with his failed marriage and his fight for his son was just karma coming back at him for all of the misdeeds he has done in his youth but Harry felt nothing but sympathy for the man in front of him.

He remembered the countless meetings with the lawyers over who would get custody of the kids, how the visitation would work, the payments Harry would make to support Ginny while the kids were in her care. It was a nerve-racking time but it was all done in private. It was never brought to the Wizengamot but, then again, his social standing may have been a contributing factor in that.

No. What Malfoy had to go through, the feelings he must have had knowing that he may lose his son; the son that he raised primarily on his own. To have his name dragged through the mud once again and told that he did not deserve children and to know that no one in that courtroom supported him. That was something Harry would not even wish upon his worst enemy.

He watched the blond as he sat there, lost in his thoughts, staring at his glass and swirling the liquid around slowly. He felt the urge to comfort him. To let him know that he understand how he felt.

His hands inched forward, seeking to offer some condolence, but he retracted them back as the waitress from earlier came over.

"Can I get you anything else?" She asked, looking at Harry and flashing him a bright smile.

Harry grinned back and shook his head. "I'm all set, thank you."

She gave a nod and walked away, back to the bar to help two men who just came in, not bothering to check to see if Malfoy wanted anything.

Harry watched her from the corner of his eye, over his shoulder and waited until she was engaged with her new customers before facing Malfoy properly.

He went to continue where they left off in their previous conversation but paused when he saw the blond watching him with an amused gleam in his eyes.

"What?" He asked.

"Potter, that waitress was flirting with you." Malfoy said, raising his head to point with his chin over Harry's shoulder towards to the girl behind the bar.

"No, she wasn't." Harry said, shaking his head.

Malfoy scoffed. "I might as well not be here for the amount of attention she paid me."

Harry looked skeptical then turned in his seat to look at the girl in question. His eyes widened a fraction when he found that she was already watching him.

She give him a little wave and blushed, looking down at the bar bashfully.

Harry frowned and turned back around. "Oh…"

"You should ask her out." Came Malfoy's cool response.

"What?" Harry asked, his voice raising an octave in surprise. "On a date?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "What else would you ask her on?"

"No." Harry said firmly, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Malfoy asked, now watching the girl move from table to table, checking to see that her other patrons where well supplied with drinks and food. "She's reasonable attractive," He said, though with the way his lip curled and nose wrinkled, Harry did not feel very assured by his companion's assessment. "And she's clearly interested."

Harry shrugged. "I'm not interested."

Malfoy muttered under his breath. "Coward."

Harry gaped at him, having heard his insult and pointed over to the girl. "If she's so 'reasonable attractive', why don't you ask her out then?"

Malfoy's eyes trailed her for another moment then he looked away and back down to his mug. "She not my type." He said simply. "Come on now," He carried on before Harry could respond. "Or does being a teacher prohibit you from drinking _and_ dating?"

"Being a teacher doesn't necessarily help my love life." Harry conceded, rather reluctantly. "I can't very well pick a girl up and bring her back to my office, now can I? And I can't go back to her place without having to sneak out far too early in the morning to apparate back because the Hogwarts floos are restricted."

In truth, Harry had only had a single one night stand since he and Ginny divorced and that experience he barely even remembered. He was still in his first year of teaching, freshly divorced, and the most sought after bachelor in the Wizarding World.

_It was Easter weekend while he was visiting the Burrow for dinner when Charley Weasley, the forever bachelor, decided that his ex-brother-in-law needed to get out and let loose._

"_You need to enjoy your new freedom, mate!" He said, dragging Harry by the arm across the Burrow's front lawn._

"_I really don't think this is a good idea." Harry pleaded, looking back to see Ron giving him a thumbs up with one hand and holding a squirming Hugo with the other. "I wanted to spend some more time with the kids before Ginny takes them home and I have to get back to Hogwarts." He reasoned._

_Charley huffed, not accepting Harry desire to be with his kids as an acceptable excuse. "You'll have plenty of time with the brood come summer and I'll make sure you get back to school in one piece."_

"_But-" Harry started before he was sucked into the uncomfortable sensation of apparation. When they reappeared at their destination and Harry was able to breath again, he finished. "It's a Sunday."_

_Charley let go of Harry's arm and brushed off his button down, "Perfect day for a teacher. Drinks are cheap and the bars close early. Trust me. This will be fun!"_

_Harry knew better than to trust the second oldest Weasley son but he allowed himself to be dragged inside. That night passed by in a whirl of drinks, laughing and obscenely loud music._

_When he woke up the next morning, he thought four things all at once: Where was he? How did he get there? Where the hell was Charley? And why did it feel like he had a mouth full of cotton?_

_The brightness of the sun made his already aching head feel like it was being tightened in a vice and that was when he sprang up, his senses fully alert, the fog in his head vanishing quicker than a Patronus to a Dementor._

_The sun was up. It was morning. It was Monday._

_And was not at school._

_He scrambled out of the bed, throwing as much of his clothes from the night before on and cramming the rest under his arm while putting his wallet and other smaller effects into his trouser pockets, as he searched for his wand._

_He only had time to cast a quick mind altering charm on the sleeping blonde in the bed, praying that, in his haste, he did it correct enough that she would think she was with a red head and not a brunette, before apparating to the edge of Hogsmeade and sprinting the rest of the way up to the castle._

_He nearly made it undetected to his private room to change when the Headmistress stopped him to question his whereabouts or lack there of during breakfast._

_He lied and said that he spent the night at the Burrow so that he could be with his kids for a little while longer._

_McGonagall seemed to accept it though her gaze was oddly focused on Harry's trouser pocket before she said that she would expect him to return to school at a more appropriate time during the next holiday. It wasn't until it was pulling on his robes that he realized what she was staring at before she departed._

_There was a pair of florescent pink, lace panties hanging out of his pocket._

_He vanished the undergarments, cursing Charley to the lowest level of hell, and vowed to never think of that night again._

He looked down and frowned. It was not his proudest moment and since then, he tended to avoid any sort of public outing. He did not care for all the fan fare or the adoration. He never found himself drawn to any of the numerous women who threw themselves shamelessly at him.

"That and being a single father of three doesn't help much." He added, shaking his head clear of the other thoughts. "My fame gets their attention but the kids always manage to drive them away." He perked up though, at the mention of his kids.

He found that he was happier living a single life. He did not need a relationship for happiness. He did not need sex for happiness.

All he needed was his children and he was the content.

"I'm fine with it though." He said with a smile. "I'd rather spend time with my kids than dating."

"But you see your kids everyday." Malfoy said.

Harry's smile faded. "Not my daughter." He said in a near whisper.

The corners of Malfoy's eyebrows twitched downward. It was clear he knew that this was a sore subject for Harry but that did not stop the Slytherin from pushing for more information. "Where is she?"

"With her mother." He mumbled.

Malfoy did not respond but continued to look expectant.

Harry subconsciously rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Come on." Malfoy encouraged, leaning forward and folding his arms on the table. "I told you about my disaster of a marriage. Let me hear yours."

"I don't know." He groaned, running both hands back and forth through his hair, causing it to stick up in even more disarray. "The cracks in the relationship were always there. It all just started falling apart once Lily was born. That's my daughter." He clarified.

Malfoy nodded to show that he was listening.

"With three kids to support and Ginny's love of shopping, I had to take more hours at the Ministry, close more cases, charm my bosses, be the 'poster boy'." He grimaced at the word.

He hated that he had let himself become to public figure he had fought so hard against becoming in his youth. His dream of being an Auror was to do field work, go on adventures, round up the bad guys. All the heroic stuff he saw in the pamphlets back in his fifth year. He hated all the public functions, the Ministry balls, the press calls. That was not what he signed up for. But he had to make the sacrifice once he started his family.

It was common knowledge that Harry Potter had enough money in his vaults to never have to work a day in his life and still not make a dent in his fortune but many did not know of the numerous anonymous donations Harry made after the war. Many were to the orphanages that opened in the following years, some to the updating of equipment and enhancing the wards of St. Mungos and a large sum to the renovations of Hogwarts.

He also made sure to set enough money aside in three separate vaults to ensure that his children never had to worry about finances when they came of age.

As Ginny began to grow frustrated with their relationship, she took to shopping as her stress reliever. Harry had to go so far, near the end of their relationship, as to put a limit on how much Ginny could remove from the vaults without Harry's express permission.

"I would have just enough time to kiss the kids goodbye in the morning and they would be asleep by the time I got home." said Harry. "With every passing day, Ginny just grew colder, more combative. She was never the stay at home type and my job made her just that."

"You can't blame yourself for her not having a maternal instinct." Malfoy reasoned.

Harry sighed. "We were just too young. Too swept up with the hype and pressure to get married after the war. Every one expected it and I think I only did it just to make them stop asking."

He spun his mug around, absentmindedly. "Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like your situation; where there were no feelings there. I cared for Ginny and I thought I loved her but now I realize that I loved the _idea _of her. The normality that she could give me. I thought that I would finally get my peace. I would get married, have kids…a proper family."

He sighed heavily. "I never should have married her and I wish I could regret it but then I wouldn't have my kids and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world."

"Tell me about Lily." Malfoy said suddenly, hoping to change to a lighter subject. "I've had the…" He grimaced slightly as he struggled with his next choice of word. "Pleasure…of meeting your boys but don't think I've ever seen a photo of your daughter."

Harry chuckled and nodded. "The media can follow me to the ends of Earth but they're nice enough to leave my kids alone, thankfully."

He smiled fondly as he thought of his little girl, picturing the last time he saw her smiling face, waving goodbye to him as he dropped her off at Aunt Hermione's house before leaving for Hogwarts. "She's got Ginny's hair and my eyes. She a dead ringer for my mother. She's even got her spirit, I think. She's quite clever for her age and boldly curious about anything and everything."

"She sounds lovely." Malfoy said, smiling warmly.

"She really is." Harry replied. "I miss her."

Malfoy sat back, still smiling. "Wow, Potter, who knew we had so much in common." He laughed. "Bad taste in women and bad luck in marriage but at least we have our kids."

Harry's smile slipped. "Except Ginny has Lily."

"She has custody?" Malfoy asked.

"Only while I'm at school." He said. "I have Lily during holidays and the summer but Ginny refuses to let me have any contact with her while she's there. She won't reply to my letters, sends house elves to answer my fire calls…"

Malfoy frowned, his eyebrows creasing in sympathy. "I-I'm sorry."

Harry laughed humorlessly. "It's not your fault."

"Still," The blond said. "No parent should be kept from their child like that."

Harry nodded. "Thanks, Malfoy."

Malfoy cleared his throat and raised his glass up. "A toast then." He announced, holding his glass out towards Harry. "To our disasters of marriages and the fact that we still have sane children through it all."

Harry laughed and raised his mug up as well. "Cheers."

They clink glasses and threw back the final remnants of their drinks.

After that, conversation moved away from the topic of family and the pair found themselves hopping from story to story with effortless ease. They talked about jobs -past and present-, the ones they wished they had, and the ones that remained only in their dreams. They talked more about their kids but stuck to the happier moments. They playfully teased each other about their times at Hogwarts and how silly they were back then.

Harry could not help but wonder where this Draco Malfoy was when they had been in school. If this laid back, easy going, funny Draco Malfoy, that sat in front of him right then, had approached him back in their first year and offered him his hand in friendship, Harry could see himself easily accepting.

He was not sure where they stood at that particular moment but Harry could no longer look at the man in front of him as Malfoy any longer. He had some how transitioned into Draco and if that put them a step closer to being friends, then Harry was okay with that.

They were just reliving - and laughing to the point that neither of them could breath properly- their disaster of a Quidditch match from second year with Draco's humiliating first outing in front of the entire school and Harry's unfortunate run in with Lockhart, complete with a full mimicking of his boneless arm, when they became distracted by the barmaid, who was noisily stacking up chairs on the deserted tables. It appeared as if she was getting ready to close for the night.

Harry looked down at his watch and his eyes widened when he saw that it was nearly midnight. "Have we been here this long?" He asked, looking around to find that he and Draco were the only two left in the pub. "I've got to get back," He said, standing up and grabbing his coat off the back of the chair, Draco following suit. " Got to get some sleep." He mumbled.

He pulled on his jacket and rummaged through his pockets, looking for some loose coins when Draco threw some Sickles down on the table.

"It's on me." He said, pulling on his jacket.

"I can pay for my drink." Harry insisted, still searching his inside jacket pockets for his coins.

Draco reached over and batted his hands away. "I'm the one who asked you to be here so I'm paying." He said firmly.

Harry frowned ever so slightly, letting his hand hang at his sides. "I would feel bad making you pay, though."

"You can pay the next time." replied Draco as he zipped up his jacket and began to walk to the door, not giving Harry a chance to argue with him.

Harry was not going to argue with him over it. In fact, he felt surprisingly at ease at the idea of going out to drinks with him again.

They bade goodnight to the barmaid and stepped outside into the now freezing cold, late night air.

"Thanks for this." Harry said, sticking his hands into his jacket pockets to keep them warm. "For the drinks and the talk."

Draco smiled. "You're welcome. I actually quite enjoyed myself." He said with a widening smile, flashing his pearly white teeth. "I haven't had a proper night out with anyone in a long time."

Harry nodded. "Me too."

They stood there awkwardly, looking around the empty street, not knowing what to do next. When their eyes met again, they burst out into laughter.

"Well," Harry said, clearing his throat. "Have a good night then."

Draco inclined his head. "Goodnight, Potter and make sure you keep an eye on my son for me, yeah?"

He gave Harry another one of his full smiles before apparating away.

Harry stood there, looking at the spot where the blond at just stood, for a moment longer and then turned and began his walk back up to the castle, smiling brighter than he had in years.

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><p><strong>I'm a little rusty so I hope you guys enjoyed it!<br>Please let me know what you thought! :)**

**I need to take a moment to apologize for the length of time that went by between the last chapter and this one. WHAT A YEAR I HAVE HAD!  
>For starters: I'm going to be an aunt! My sister is due any day now so I have been very distracted with that.<br>One of my favorite bands (McFly) _finally_ came to the US for two shows and I managed to get a ticket.  
>Then I went to the J.K. Rowling book signing for The Casual Vacancy. What an experience! We talked briefly as I gave her the letter that I wrote her. Two months later, I received a personal response from her. I can't even explain to you the emotions. I cried for over an hour.<br>Bought a ticket to Leaky Con London and have been working two jobs (and 70 hour/6 day work weeks) to afford the trip, only to find out last week that the people I was going with had to back out so now I'm not going to London after all. :(  
>Planning yet another friend's wedding.<br>And finally, preparing my cosplays for Anime Boston.  
><strong>

**There were some other personal things in between but those are the big reasons why I have been neglecting my writing. I feel like I can't apologize enough but I'm going to stop rambling and boring you now.**

**Until next time, my darlings!**


	9. Chapter 9

**What is this? An add that didn't take a year to post? It's a miracle!**

**I made sure to put some time aside to get this chapter finished as I have a busy next couple of weeks coming up. I'm going to be in England in a month's time as a birthday present to myself. If any of you are McFly fans, I'm going to be at their 10 anniversary show on the 20th. I can't wait!**

**In regards to the chapter, it's a bit of a filler to set things up for the next few chapters. There is more Draco/Harry interactions on the way but, as I said in the beginning, I like to make these things as realistic as possible so I just need to get through some important set up moments before we get to the good stuff. Just repeat to yourself that good things come to those who wait.**

**I'm working on some fluffy and smutty standalones (not related to this story) to tide you guys over until we get to the nitty gritty here. I'll try to have one up before I leave for my vacation, if not, it will be up once I get back.**

**Finally, thank you so much to: xxxxParvati-Patilxxxx, TearfullPixie, Sarahamanda Klaine, 107602, Lori94, Allyieh, Tenshi Yami- Angel of Darkness, Coralie, AJB66613, Jen Belikov, yess, Tiliapetiolaris, Emilia-InkHeart, poopy666, beauty0102, WolfandWhitlock, Guest, Mashkai30, and Angelic Snowdrop for your lovely, funny, and downright humbling reviews and to everyone who added this story and myself to your favorites and alerts. It means the world to me that you guys like the story and it's you guys that make me want to keep writing and make it fun to do!**

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><p>Chapter 9<p>

The afternoon sun shone brightly through the high ceilings of the Hogwarts library, casting warming rays down on the tables. The soft echoes of the birds chirping and the children's laughter from outside provided a distraction to those few students who decided to spend their Sunday indoors, trying to make up for their week long procrastinations and last minute studying for their early morning exams.

Books lay forgotten on the tables as children gazed longingly outside, wishing they could be enjoying the last warm days before the cold fall weather arrived.

All except one.

Hidden at a table in the back of the library, away from prying eyes and even the sun's cheerful light, sat a small pale haired boy with his nose buried in a thick tome.

He had been there since early morning, never moving from his space, the only sounds leaving his station were of pages turning and the faint growl of frustration as he set down one book and picked up a new one from his dwindling stack.

The boy refused to acknowledge anyone who may have passed him by, as most of them either looked at him suspiciously or only wanted to throw insults in his direction. He had become used to it all now and remained unfazed.

The boy was so absorbed in his reading that he had not noticed another boy heading right towards him and gave a jump fright as a brown satchel landed with a loud thump on his table.

"Oh, it's you," Scorpius said, watching as Albus Potter sat down in the chair across from him with an amused smirk, before going back to his reading as if nothing had happened.

In the weeks following the fight in the Charms classroom, Scorpius and Albus had formed a tight friendship. While Scorpius did not have any friends to begin with, when Albus stood up for him that day, the Gryffindors took it as a sign of betrayal and many ostracized him and persuaded their friends to do the same. Even his brother, James, acted as if he did not know him.

The two of them avoided the Great Hall, as no one in the their houses wanted to sit near them and Scorpius was tired of all the whispering. They usually were given food from the elves in the kitchens and then ate in empty classrooms. Other times they joined Albus' father in his private room and ate with him.

Scorpius liked Albus' father. He was friendly and always seemed genuinely interested in what the boys had to say. He listened and gave advice. He told them stories of his adventures while he was in school (though they both had a sneaking suspicion that he was leaving out some of the scary bits), and he was always making sure that no one was causing them any trouble.

Albus was very much like his father in that aspect, Scorpius noticed. He boldly declared on their second day of having lunch together that he was going to look out for him 'because that's what best friends do'.

Scorpius did not even know what you did with a friend much less a best friend but he was learning as he went and found that he was enjoying himself immensely in the process.

"How did your potions test go?" Scorpius asked, after a moment of silence between them.

Albus shrugged and reclined back in his chair, lifting it up onto two legs, clearly only in the library because of Scorpius.

Scorpius just rolled his eyes then returned them back to his book.

There was another moment of silence then Albus returned his chair back to it's proper position, crossing his arms on the table and resting his chin upon them. "What is that you're reading, Scorp?"

Scorpius could not help but grin at the nickname. "It's a book about the war." He said, keeping his eyes trained on the book in front of him.

"Another one?" He heard Albus sigh.

"Yes, but this one is different," He argued, turning the page. "It's more about the Death Eaters."

"Why are you so curious about them?"

"My dad has the Mark and he won't tell me why so I'm going to find out," Scorpius said, turning the page again. "Except this one doesn't name any names."

The story behind Scorpius' father and his Dark Mark was quickly becoming one of the great mysteries in the young boy's life. He slammed his book close and tossed it onto his ever growing pile of discarded books.

"I just want to know why!" He exclaimed. "I feel like everyone know but me. I mean, why won't he tell me if he wasn't a bad guy?"

Albus glanced over his shoulder to make sure that no one was around them then leaned in closer and whispered, "I think he may have been a spy."

Scorpius leaned in so that their faces were inches apart. "Really?"

"Yeah! I mean he was really nice when I saw him last. Death Eaters aren't nice people."

"That has to be it," Scorpius whispered, more like his was trying to convince himself rather than agree with Albus.

Albus sat back again and regarded his friend. He had been visiting Scorpius in the library nearly every day for the past week and a half and every time the Slytherin had a look on his face that reminded Albus of a lost puppy or a child who just found out that Santa was not real.

"Come on," Albus said finally, standing up and swinging his school bag over his shoulder.

"What?"

"You need to stop moping," He declared, moving to grab Scorpius' things. "Let's go play a game of chess or watch the Quidditch tryouts. James is going for chaser."

Scorpius could not understand how, despite all the mean things his brother does to Albus, he still wants to be there to support him. It must be some weird Gryffindor thing, he thought.

Scorpius bit his lip, unsure. He still had four more books to look through and a Charms essay to finish…and a Potions essay…and some questions from his Transfigurations chapter. How had he fallen so far behind in his homework?

"I don't know, Albus…"

"Please!" Albus whined, lightly stomping his feet in a mock fit. "I'm tired of always hanging out in the library and I _know_ you're tired of reading those books all day long."

Scorpius sighed. "I know but I have all this work to do still."

"How about this: You and I go watch the tryouts for a bit and then we'll come back here and I'll do your Transfiguration homework while you look through your little War books. Deal?"

Scorpius could not fight the grin that crossed his face and, without another word, he stood up and the two of them raced off to enjoy the last remaining hours of the weekend daylight.

* * *

><p>The warmth of summer slowly gave way into chilly autumn. The lush green leaves of the forest trees began to change into fiery oranges and reds. The students began to switch out their vests for sweaters and began sporting thicker cloaks when crossing the grounds for the greenhouses.<p>

Eventually, the chill in the air intensified, the leaves fell and decayed, frost glistened on the grass every morning then the snow began to fall. Winter had arrived and the castle was abuzz with the excitement of the upcoming Holiday.

And for two months, Harry Potter's life passed with very little excitement. Two months of lectures and practicals. Two months of giving exams, grading papers, monitoring detentions, and two months with no word from Malfoy.

They had enjoyed themselves and Harry felt like they had crossed some of the hurdles of their past and maybe even became friends? Acquaintances at least. Definitely not enemies.

Harry told himself that he should not feel so disappointed. He should not glance at his window every now and again, hoping an owl would appear.

It was not as if Harry was completely alone, however.

Even though Scorpius had completed his detentions, he still spent much of his free time with Harry in his office. Some times it was just the two of them, cleaning up after a class or just sitting in silence while he read and Harry graded papers.

Once he was finished with his last class of the day, Albus would join them for tea and they would talk about their day and laugh at Harry's stories of his not so famous adventures within the school.

Harry enjoyed getting to spend so much time with his son - he had feared that once Albus had started school, he would follow James down the path of ignoring that he had any relation to Harry unless he needed something or to get himself out of trouble - and had even begun looking forward to his time with Scorpius as well.

It was one week before the Christmas holiday and Harry was sitting at his desk in his private chambers, Albus and Scorpius were on the couch across from him, telling him all about how their final Potions and Charms exams of the term went.

Harry smiled and listened as the two boys bickered back and forth over who brewed the better Cure for Boils. Albus had inherited Harry's dismay potion making abilities but with some tutoring from Scorpius, he quickly rose to nearly top of the class.

He could not help but notice, however, that the boys kept giving each other looks over the tops of their tea cups whenever they paused to sip or he would catch them with their heads together, whispering.

"Alright, what is it?" He asked finally, having caught them again in a hushed conversation.

Albus and Scorpius jumped of fright and sprang apart.

"I don't know what you mean," Albus said, exchanging a quick glance at Scorpius, then took a large gulp of his tea.

Harry's eyebrows lifted slightly and the corners of his lips pulled upwards. "You two have been sneaking glances and whispering at one another for over ten minutes now. Clearly, there is something you want to talk to me about so why don't we just get it out of the way now then go back to our tea?"

Albus set his tea down on the coffee table and laid his hands on his lap, twisting them anxiously. Scorpius gave Albus a little nudge in the shoulder and nodded in Harry's direction to encourage him to get on with it.

Harry felt his heart beat increase as he waited for Albus to speak. He had not seen his son so nervous to talk to him since the time he accidentally broke one of Harry's awards when he and James were playing in his study once.

"Well…" He began, taking a breath and then straightening up and clearing his throat. "I was wondering if Scorpius could come and visit over the holidays."

Harry blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"I know it's normally just the four of us but I've never had a friend over before and I really, really want to show Scorp my book collection, and I promise we won't make of mess of my room and if we do I'll clean it all up, and we won't make a lot of noise and-"

Harry could not help but chuckle as he held his hand up to stop Albus' rambling. The boy immediately fell silent and looked down at his hands.

Harry looked over at Scorpius, who stayed silent but looked hopeful back at him.

"I have no issues with Scorpius coming over some time over break. He's more than welcome," He said with a smile and an approving nod to Scorpius. "As long as he gets permission from his father first," He added after a pause.

"I'll write him first thing in the morning about it!" Scorpius said, clapping a stunned but grinning Albus on the back.

"Thanks, dad!"

Harry reached behind himself for his tea, leaned back in his chair and watched the two boys become absorbed in their own world again, making plans for what they were going to do when Scorpius came to the house.

He shook his head in amusement. Leave it Albus to make a mountain out of a molehill and give Harry a few more grey hairs in the process.

Albus was a rare breed of child, as Mrs. Weasley always said of his youngest son. He was a giver. He would take such care and thought into his presents for the family but never asked for anything in return and was always grateful for whatever he did receive.

Ginny would complain that it was like pulling teeth just to get a Christmas list out of him each year but Albus insisted that he did not need anything too big. Just a new book or some writing tools and he would be satisfied.

Asking his father to have a friend over was probably the biggest thing he had ever requested and it was not as if Harry would ever deny his children anything. He never had and he had no intention of starting any time soon.

Plus, it opened up a possibility of seeing Malfoy once more and Harry felt more excited about the prospect of that then he should have but he told himself it was just because it was nice to talk to someone new for a change. Someone who did not know him completely. Someone who, somehow, seemed to understand him better than even Ron and Hermione.

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><p>The following evening, as Harry was getting ready for bed, he was surprised to find an owl perched outside his window.<p>

He opened the window with a wave of his wand and the eagle owl swooped in and landing on the back of his desk chair, holding out its leg.

He crossed the room and untied the letter. There was no name written on the front of the parchment. He turned it over and grinned at the Malfoy seal on the back.

He sat down and slid his finger under the fold, breaking the wax seal and opened the piece of paper.

_Potter,_

_I'm sure by the time you receive this owl, our sons will have beaten down your door in their impending excitement but, if they have not yet, then I am writing to inform you that I have given Scorpius permission to visit over the Holidays._

_Respond at your earliest convenience so we can find a time that is suitable for us both._

_Humblest regards,_

_Draco L. Malfoy _

Harry set the letter down on the desk, reached for his quill and some spare parchment and wrote a quick reply before giving it to the owl. It took off back out the window and disappeared into the night.

Harry fell asleep quickly and peacefully that night and dreamt of nothing but the upcoming holidays.

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><p><strong>Not as long as previous chapters but again, it's just a set up for what is to come.<strong>

**Let me know what you thought and I will see you all next time!**


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